One Good Shoulder
by Randomality
Summary: Laguna is finally on his feet again, but can he answer the call of the road when obligation and duty call louder? Raine struggles with life in Winhill and a looming deadline. Can she find a way to keep Ellone before the little girl is taken away?
1. Bad News

Standard Disclaimer: FFVIII belongs to Square-Enix, yadda yadda yadda… You know the rest.

One Good Shoulder 

Laguna hobbled down the stairs as best as he could, leaning heavily on his crutch. It had been years since he last had to navigate down stairs like this and he felt pleased with himself that he hadn't lost his touch. Elle was asleep, which meant that he could sneak downstairs and pester Raine for a bit. Normally, she would point to the dishes or some other task to keep him busy, but he didn't mind. At least he could be useful to her for a little while and do something to repay her generosity.

Pausing on the landing, he looked at the empty pub. It wasn't the right time for customers, so he was not very concerned. In an hour or two, Raine would be busy enough with her usual clientele. His ears picked up the sound of voices coming from the kitchen. One was Raine's and the other was of a woman he recognized as the social worker that came to check on Ellone earlier that day. Limping to the bar, he decided to wait for Raine to finish.

"...I'm sorry, Miss Leonhart, but you can't apply to adopt Ellone," the social worker said, "You are only eligible to give temporary foster care. If Ellone isn't adopted in a year, she will have to go to an orphanage."

"But-!" Raine tried to protest.

The other woman interrupted. "You know the rules, Miss Leonhart. Even though you have the economic capacity to provide for Ellone, unmarried people are not eligible to adopt." The tone became sympathetic, "It's the law and I can do nothing about it. If you want Ellone to stay in Winhill, your best bet is to find a family in the area willing to take her in." There was some shuffling. "I'll send this favorable report off. If you wish to take on more temporary foster children after Ellone, you will be more than welcome to. I have been impressed with your ability to keep watch over her and run your business alone."

Laguna propped his chin up with his hand as he leaned on the bartop. She wasn't exactly alone, not recently. For the past six months, Ellone was a nearly constant companion to Laguna, each keeping the other occupied and out of trouble. Then there were the townsfolk, especially the elderly ladies, who enjoyed watching Ellone for Raine during the busier times of the day. Of course, since Laguna regained his coherency and began to heal, those little old ladies had less and less to do when it came to watching over the girl, unless they wanted to watch over Laguna too. They didn't seem to like him being around Ellone so much, but it was Elle who wanted her "Uncle" Laguna close.

The social worker exited the kitchen. "Until our next visit, Miss Leonhart." She noticed Laguna and bowed her head briefly.

Laguna waved at the woman as she stepped out the door. The pub fell uncomfortably quiet for him and he hobbled towards the kitchen door, using the bar instead of the crutch to support him. A choked sob jerked him to a halt. Was Raine crying? Raine didn't cry! She was tough as nails and didn't put up with crap from anyone! The rush of water pouring from the faucet and the clink of glasses soon covered up the sound.

Leaning on the doorframe, he saw her furiously scrubbing dishes and pausing now and then to wipe her eyes on her sleeve. His brows furrowed, then relaxed. Before he realized it, he was reaching out to her, touching her shoulder. "Hey."

Raine gasped and twisted around to face him, her wet eyes wide. He offered her a conciliatory smile. "It's gonna be alright. We'll figure somethin' out. You won't lose Elle."

"We?"

Laguna nodded, "I don't wanna see Elle go, either." Then he shook his head. "It's not fair. You're Elle's family now. She's happy with you."

Raine bit her lower lip and glanced to the floor as fresh tears came to her eyes. Laguna's expression softened and he rested a hand on her shoulder and stepped closer. "Hey, hey... It'll be okay." He grunted and clenched his teeth as she grabbed onto his shirt and buried her face in his shoulder. His lower back protested against the extra pressure and his knees nearly buckled. Shifting forward and wrapping his arms around her small figure, he let her frame support some of his weight. Bewildered blue-green eyes searched the kitchen as Raine's shoulders hitched beneath his and his shirt soaked up her tears. _'Oh, man... Is her nose gonna get snotty like Elle's does when she cries?'_

Leaning against each other, they stood in the pub's kitchen until the sound of the door opening alerted them to a visitor. Raine pulled away, and then stared at the wet spot on Laguna's shirt. Covering her mouth with one hand, she wiped at the spot with a dry towel. Laguna stopped her and grinned. "Don't worry about it. I got it covered."

He hobbled in front of the sink and dropped a metal pan into the water, splashing himself generously. Grabbing the towel, he slung it over his shoulder and limped out to the bar, using anything he could to support himself on the way. "Hey! What can I do for ya?" he greeted the customer.

Raine cleaned herself up as she listened to Laguna chat to the customer and fill his order. She felt embarrassed about bawling on Laguna, of all people, and wasn't quite ready to face the world. She heard the door open again and the voice of one of her regulars come in.

"Where's Raine?"

"In back," Laguna replied amiably, "So, I'm manning the station 'til she's done."

"Well, if you're well enough to work, you should be well enough to go back to where you came from."

Laguna didn't miss a beat with his reply. "So, what'll it be? We got some fresh Mimett dark this morning. Haven't tried it myself, but I hear it's pretty good."

_'Change of subject, a typical Laguna answer,'_ Raine let herself grin. She took a deep, steadying breath. The pub door opened again and another customer entered. She couldn't dawdle any longer or her regulars would gang up on Laguna and throw him out into the street, if not back into the river.

She stepped into the bar, wearing her most neutral expression like warpaint. "Soup of the day is potato garlic," she announced. Then to Laguna, she spoke, "I'll take over. Why don't you go keep an eye on Elle for me?"

"You sure you don't need a hand down here?"

"I'm fine." She reached over the bar and picked up his crutch. Handing it to him, she added, "If I need anything, I'll ask."

Laguna nodded and accepted his crutch. "Sure thing."

As he reached the top of the stairway, he could hear one of the regulars remark, "Looks like your stray is about ready to be turned out."

Another customer added, "You ain't thinkin' of keepin' him, are you?"

There were a few chuckles from the regulars. "Just give him a collar and his shots."

"Gotta neuter him first."

Raine's reply was crisp. "Laguna still has some healing left to do. I'm sure he'll move on as soon as he's ready."

Stretching out on the couch, Laguna stared up at the ceiling. He would have to move on soon. The question was where. It wasn't like he had a home or a family to go back to. The few mailings he got were sent to Deling garrison, and then distributed from there, depending on his assignment. Deling was familiar ground to him, but if he really wanted to get into journalism, then Timber was the place to go. But, he didn't want to leave Ellone and Raine alone, not when they had done so much for him. How could he ever repay them, especially Raine? He had little for money and not much else but his clothes and his gun. He couldn't even do much for finding a Winhill family for Ellone. People here didn't like him. Even Raine was cold to him at first.

If he got lucky and hit it big in the journalism scene, then he would have plenty of money to give Raine. But that seemed like a shallow way to repay her and money wouldn't help her keep Ellone. If they didn't find a family in Winhill to take her, she would be sent to an orphanage. Most likely it would be one in Deling. From his own experience, being an orphan in Deling was not fun. He wanted to prevent that from ever happening to Elle. Sighing, he closed his eyes. Surely an answer would come in its own good time.


	2. Changing the Guard

Standard Disclaimer: FFVIII belongs to Square-Enix, yadda yadda yadda… You know the rest.

* * *

_One Good Shoulder – Chapter Two_

Laguna watched through the rain-blurred window as one group of soldiers rotated their shift with another. Every few months, a new batch of blue and silver uniforms would enter the town to replace the old. He was somewhat sad to see them go. He was just starting to get to know them, just starting to make some friends in this cold village. He knew that those soldiers were given the same frigid treatment as he was. They weren't natives to the village. Winhill's boys were scattered throughout the world or laid to rest.

It was nice to talk to them about their mutual experiences serving in the army without much explanation of slangs and standard procedures, like he had to when he spoke about the army to Raine. He could talk about the hotspots of Deling or the tours he did in Timber and Centra with those soldiers, beyond the usual glossing over and embellishments.

But they were leaving now and he would have to start over with this new batch. In a way, he envied them. They would speak about their homes and family, showing him pictures that they kept with them. They had addresses that they could go to and people who would be there for them. They knew were they belonged. Laguna didn't have anything like that to talk about in return. It was one of the few places where all he could offer was silence, followed by a quick change of the subject.

Footsteps behind him reminded him of Raine's presence. "Coffee?" She offered the tray with the steaming cups.

He pulled his crutch aside so that she could sit, before he accepted a cup with a smile. "Thanks."

Raine glanced out the window as she sat down in the house that Ellone's parents once lived in. Ellone was upstairs, banging away on her little toy piano. After a sip of hot coffee, Raine remarked, "It's been difficult for the townsfolk to adjust to the soldiers coming and going. But it's been a year and a half. They should be getting used to it by now."

A bite bug flitted by the window and Laguna scowled at it. "Well, maybe if they would protect the whole town instead of the just the mansion, the soldiers would be a little better liked. I know they got their orders, but... There's room to improvise. It's because of Elle that this town ended up a hotspot, not that big house. There's probably a red bull holding them back, who's thinking more about his career as an officer than the people who live here."

Raine tilted her head. "Red bull?"

"Someone wearing the red uniform of a commissioned officer," Laguna clarified, "Particularly one that's a bit thick-headed, short-tempered, and self-centered. I hated working under them. They just trample over anything they think is in their way, no matter who it hurts. Or kills." He took a drink from his cup. "A lot of bluelegs have died because of things that ended up as suicide missions meant to boost a red bull up a rank."

She took note of the grimness of Laguna's expression. It seemed so alien on his face. "Is that what happened to you?"

He put the cup to his lips again and shrugged. "I lived through it."

Barely, Raine recalled. He had so many broken bones; it was a wonder that he was able to walk at all by now. Of all of his injuries, his broken back was the one that had worried both of them the most. Laguna was determined to walk again, so it was the injury that he took the most care of. The outline of the stiff brace wrapped around his waist was visible through his shirt.

Laguna listened to Ellone's cacophony and grinned. "I wonder what she's trying to play up there?"

Raine shrugged, "Whatever she likes, I suppose." She watched the blocky army truck rumble out of the square and away from Winhill, taking soldiers back to Deling. Her gaze shifted to Laguna, who had turned his attention back to the window. "Laguna," she began, "Where will you go after you leave here?"

"I dunno," he replied, "Deling or Timber. It depends on how soon I want to start up my prize-winning journalism career." A broad grin briefly spread across his face as he glanced at Raine. "I might have a place or two I can temporarily crash at in Deling, though I won't know for certain until I go there. I don't really know anyone in Timber, so getting a place there might be a little tough. Though I should at least visit Deling. There's some people there I should go see."

"But, where is your home?"

Laguna peered up at the sky through the wet window. "Hey, you think it's gonna snow soon? It's been gettin' pretty cold around here."

"Laguna."

He looked at the woman's scowling face and blinked. "What?"

"Stop it."

"Stop what?"

"Stop changing the subject." She was standing now, hands planted on her hips. "If you don't want to tell me, then say so!"

"Tell you what?"

"Your home," she stated sharply, "Where you came from, where you belong."

He stared at her for a moment, and then looked away. A cascade of dark hair obscured his face, hiding him from Raine. "Wherever," he shrugged, "Nowhere. I dunno." He shook his head. "If I had a place I could go to, I wouldn't have stayed here this long. Somebody else would be taking care of me while I heal up, instead of you."

A little girl's voice broke in from the landing of the stairway. "Uncle Laguna!" Ellone called, "Come listen to the song I made!"

He looked up to her with a smile and grabbed his crutch. "Hey, are ya gonna play a concert for me?"

Ellone bobbed her head, "Uh-huh! Come listen!" She dashed up the stairs as Laguna hobbled behind.

Raine stayed below as the discordant "concert" began. This was the first time Laguna ever mentioned anything about his home, or lack thereof. Come to think of it, he never spoke of home, or family, or his past like the other soldiers did. If he talked about such things, then it was about escapades with fallen comrades or his far-flung dreams. Otherwise, it was the usual mindless Laguna-chatter, focused on the here and now.

She picked up his half-emptied cup. Why didn't he speak of his past? What was he afraid of? What was he hiding? Her stomach tightened. Who was this man that she let into her home and left Ellone alone with? Whose shoulder did she cry on just a few days ago? The other villagers were wary about him, but she found it difficult to share those sentiments while he was broken and helpless. But he was growing stronger day after day and it wouldn't be long before he fully recovered.

Traveling up the stairway, she found Ellone pounding away on her toy piano and Laguna sitting in the rocking chair, enduring the noise with a smile on his face. He killed in the past. But somehow, she didn't believe that was his true nature. He was a fighter, but not cold-blooded. In all of the months that he had stayed here, he was never mean or cruel in word or action. If he were truly a threat to her and Ellone, he would have shown a sign of it by now, right? If anything, the lout was a pushover. Like now. She winced at the "music" of Ellone's making.

Laguna saw Raine in the doorway with a pained expression on her face. "Hey, Elle," he called to the little girl, "Let's hear the grand finale and go get some ice cream."

"Ice cream!" Ellone bounced on her pillow and worked her little piano into a frenzy.

Raine facepalmed, her wince transforming into a grimace. "Laguna!"

He just smiled at her from the rocking chair and she sighed. If he was a pushover, then she was doubly so.


	3. Snowy Day

Standard Disclaimer: FFVIII belongs to Square-Enix, yadda yadda yadda… You know the rest.

A/N: Rating boosted to PG, 'cause Laguna has a mild potty mouth.

* * *

_One Good Shoulder – Chapter Three_

Laguna slowly peeled open his eyes and blinked at the midmorning light. The blankets of the puny bed were hitched up as close to his chin as they would go without exposing his feet. Cautiously, he stretched his arm out of the warm cocoon. _'Damn, it's cold in here.'_ He looked at the frosted windows. _'I don't wanna get up.'_ The first twinges of guilt played on him. He had spent enough time in this undersized bed as it was. If he was going to regain his strength, he had to start moving around. Besides, how long would Raine put up with a lazy lump before she threw him out?

Steeling himself, he cast off the blankets and planted his bare feet on the floor. _'Holy shit, it's like a meat locker in here!'_ He shivered and reached for his back brace. Once it was secured around his torso, he shuffled to the window. Outside, the world was covered in white. Snow was thick on the rooftops and fell from tree branches. _'I bet Elle's giving Raine hell,'_ he chuckled to himself. He could easily visualize the little girl begging her guardian to let her outside to play. And he could just as easily imagine Raine holding steady like a mountain and refusing the girl's pleas. After all, it was dangerous outside with the monsters invading the town and cute little girls were easy prey.

He rubbed at his perpetually bare jaw and watched a bright green and purple Caterchipillar lazily inch towards the snowy town square from behind the mansion. _'Not cool... Elle's definitely not going out today.'_

After getting dressed and grabbing his crutch, he limped to Raine's pub, which was far warmer than the house next door. He could hear Raine in the kitchen and Elle's voice incessantly pestering her.

"I wanna go out and play! Please? Please? Pleeeeeeease?"

Raine's reply was firm. "No. It's not safe out there, even with the soldiers."

Laguna laughed to himself, adding a few points to his mental scoreboard. "Awww... C'mon, Raine!" he called to her, "Those soldiers are lazy bums! Now, if I were back in shape, I'd take my gun an' show 'em how it's done! Then Elle could play in the snow like all little girls should!"

The exasperated sigh from Raine was audible, even from the kitchen. "Laguna! Don't encourage her!" She stepped into the doorway between the bar and the kitchen, her arms crossed and a wooden spoon in hand.

He just smiled at her and asked, "So, what's for breakfast?"

"Remember, no free meals anymore. You work for what you eat."

"Yeah, yeah. You want me to clean the kitchen tonight, right? Get rid of the leftovers?"

"Yes," replied Raine, "But when I say "get rid of the leftovers", I don't mean "eat them yourself." That was just disgusting."

"C'mon! It was only three days old! Ain't nothin' wrong with it. It just aged a little bit," Laguna defended, "Tasted pretty good too." Seeing Raine's scowl, he added, "Hey, I've eaten things way older an' nastier before and it hasn't killed me yet. As long as I don't eat the fuzzy or sour-smelling parts, I'm fine. Besides, you keep your kitchen so clean that I won't have a problem with that." He hobbled to the kitchen, where Ellone was seated at the small table.

Once he had a seat and set his crutch aside, Raine served up the meal of sausage, scrambled eggs, and hash browns. A simple, hearty fare that he knew he was going to miss sorely when he left.

Ellone hummed and kicked her little legs under the chair as she ate. Halfway through the meal, Raine spoke. "Laguna. You're quiet. It's scaring me."

"Hmm? Oh." He propped his elbow on the table. "I was just thinking."

"That still scares me," was the rapid-fire reply.

Laguna ignored the comment. "I was thinking about how to scare the monsters away for the day so Elle could go out and play." Ellone's dark eyes locked onto him hopefully. He caught her expression and winked, "But Elle has to stay inside for a while, so I can do it."

Raine's tone was skeptical. "What are you going to do?"

"You'll see," he answered offhandedly, "But I gotta talk to the soldiers on duty first."

"They haven't helped to clean up the town before, Laguna," she reminded, "What makes you think that they'll do it now?"

He shrugged and responded around a mouthful of hash browns, "I'm not gonna make them do anything. I'm just gonna give 'em a heads up, so I don't scare 'em an' piss 'em off."

After breakfast, he hobbled back to the house next door. Inside a locked cabinet were artifacts from his life as a Galbadian soldier: tattered remains of his uniform, battered pieces of armor, and a gleaming black submachine gun. As soon as he had regained the use of his hands, he started the process of restoring his weapon. It was his most faithful companion for the past ten years; he wasn't going to let it deteriorate if he could help it. Now, it was about time he found out how well he had repaired and maintained it. The magazine was loaded and he slung the gun over his shoulder on a tired leather strap.

Raine jumped when she heard the unmistakable sound of gunfire come from right outside her door. Peering out the window that faced the square, she saw the soldiers standing in their positions unperturbed. _'Oh, no... He didn't...'_ She opened the pub's door and saw Laguna sitting in a chair dragged from the house next door. The machine gun was in his lap and a beaming smile spread across his face.

"It still works!" was his triumphant crow. A bite bug flitted in its death throes across the square. "Hah! Ain't no monsters gonna get Elle now!" He gave a satisfied nod to his kill and his breath steamed into the air. "Just give me a couple hours out here and Elle can play outside this afternoon."

Raine rubbed at the knot forming between her brows. There was a man with a machine gun sitting outside her door shooting monsters in the snow. Was she going to allow this? "Laguna-"

He brought his weapon up and aimed it at the Caterchipillar wriggling across the bridge. Four staccato shots flashed from the gun's muzzle and the green monster shuddered from the impact. It squirmed forward, continuing its route towards the square. Laguna fired another volley and the green creature curled in upon itself. Half-lowering the weapon, Laguna studied the creature as it lay still in the snow. "I'm not sure if that one's dead." He fired a few more rounds and it uncurled with a death rattle. "Now it is."

Shaking her head, she reentered the pub and climbed the stairs. As she pulled a blanket off of the couch, she heard a whimper from one of the beds. "Ellone?" Light footsteps carried her towards the little girl's bed. "Ellone?" Raine kneeled and looked underneath the wooden frame, her long brown hair spilling over the floor. Ellone was hiding under the bed, clutching her blanket and crying as quietly as she could. "Ellone? What's wrong?"

"The bad people are coming," she whispered.

"Bad people?" The echo of gunfire sounded from the front of the pub and Ellone flinched. Raine scowled, recalling the bullet holes inside the house next door. "Laguna! That oaf! Ellone, the bad people aren't coming. You're just hearing Laguna shoot monsters outside."

Wet, wide eyes blinked in the darkness. "Uncle Laguna?"

Raine nodded. "He wanted to make the monsters go away so you could play outside. He just didn't think that it might scare you. Come on, let's go talk to Laguna."

Ellone crept out from the safety of the bed and followed her guardian down the stairs. Standing in the doorway of the pub, Ellone stared at the big black thing that Laguna held.

"Hey, Elle," he greeted. Then he noticed her damp cheeks. "Elle! What's wrong?"

Raine crossed her arms. "Laguna! You scared her! You made her think that Esthar was after her again!"

"W-what?" Laguna's eyes widened and he stumbled out of his chair. Falling to his knees on the front step, he kneeled in front of the child. "Elle! I'm sorry, Elle! I didn't mean to scare you! I was just clearin' the monsters outta here so you could play!" He held up his weapon. "This is my gun. I use it to kill monsters. That's what you were hearing." He glanced over his shoulder and saw another bite bug encroaching on his territory. "You wanna see? I'll get rid of that monster right over there."

Ellone gripped Raine's pant leg as Laguna pulled himself to his feet and returned to the chair. With automatic movements, he aimed and fired, felling the creature. He smiled at Ellone. "See? No more monster!"

Her eyes darted to look at the gun, then the fallen monster, then the gun again. "No more monster?"

"No more monster," Laguna confirmed.

She pointed to the pile of ejected shells to the right of Laguna's chair. "What are those?"

"Those?" He looked down at the shining brass cylinders in the snow. "Oh, those are just shells. The bullets used to be attached to them, but my gun spits 'em out after it fires the bullets." Aquamarine eyes twinkled as he grinned. "It's kinda like gun poo."

Ellone giggled and pointed at the shells again. "Eeeew... Gun poo!"

Both of them laughed at the potty humor, while Raine groaned. "Alright, you two," she said, "We're letting all of the warm air out of the pub. Go back inside, Ellone. You can watch Laguna from the window if you want."

Ellone sang out, "Gun poo!" as she ran back inside.

Raine handed Laguna the blanket she brought from upstairs. "Here, I don't need to be nursing you through a cold."

"Thanks," he replied as he accepted the blanket. "Raine, I'm really sorry about scaring Elle. I just didn't think-"

"I know. You didn't mean it." Raine had her hand on the door handle. "But as long as Ellone can see that it's you, I think she'll be okay." The door clicked closed behind her.

As the morning wore into the afternoon, the old men that were the regulars to Winhill's only watering hole began to file into the pub. Each gave a dubious glance to Laguna and his gun, and then to the monster carcasses littering the town square. Dancing past the old men, a bundled-up Ellone ran outside and jumped into the snow. Laguna kept watch over her as she built a snowman and made snow angels. He wished that he could join her in her play, but his back was already complaining to him about his gun's kick, despite using the chair's back to help brace it. _'Man, I feel as old as the geezers that sit in the pub and drink all day.'_

When Raine called Ellone back inside, Laguna decided that it was time to call an end to his monster watch. He dragged the chair back into the house, cleaned his gun, and locked it away in the cabinet. The blanket Raine gave him was folded and he tucked it under his free arm before picking up his crutch.

By the time he returned to the pub, Raine already had plenty of cleaning for him to do in the kitchen. With sleeves rolled up, he started to earn his keep. When he heard an order for the soup of the day, he ladled it into a bowl and cut a slice of Raine's sourdough bread to accompany it. When she ducked into the kitchen to fill that order, Raine stared at the ready bowl, and then at Laguna, who smiled at her and continued to wash glasses. A smile lifted her lips as she picked up the order and delivered it to the waiting customer.

After closing time, Raine and Laguna cleaned up the pub for the night, while Ellone put the finishing touches on her crayon on paper art. The last of the soup and bread was served at the kitchen table. Laguna grinned at Ellone's drawing. It was unmistakably meant to be him shooting down the flying "bunbuns" and wriggling "buchubuchus" in front of the pub.

"I think artistic talent like this deserves its own gallery!" he announced. Finding a spare magnet, he fixed the drawing to the refrigerator. "A masterpiece!"

Once dinner was eaten, Raine picked up Ellone. "Come on, it's time for bed."

"I don't wanna go to bed!" Ellone whined, trying to squirm out of Raine's grip.

Laguna found his crutch and tousled the little girl's hair. She was going to be difficult tonight. "Well, can I read you a story before I go to bed?"

She thought this over for a moment. "Okay."

As Raine tucked Ellone into bed, Laguna picked up a well-loved collection of fairy tales from the bookshelf. Sitting on the edge of her bed, he flipped the book open. "Letsee, where were we? "The Lonely Little Moogle?" Nah, we read that one already. Oh, here we are. We left off at "The Golden Chocobo." You ready? All right. Once upon a time..."

Raine listened to Laguna's voice tell the story as she returned downstairs to clean the last of the dishes. By the time she finished climbing the stairs with a tray with a teapot and a couple of cups, Laguna was carefully hoisting himself off of the bed and putting the book away. Ellone was sound asleep.

He carefully lowered himself onto the couch. "She didn't make it through the story," he reported quietly. "We'll have to try that one again later."

Raine grinned as she poured tea for two. "At least you got her to bed. It would have been a fight otherwise." She took a sip from her cup. "Thank you for reading those stories to her."

"No problem," Laguna replied, "Actually, I kinda like it. It's been so long since I read those stories myself, I almost forgot how they went, even though I really liked them as a kid."

"Really?" She put a little sugar in her cup. "What was your favorite?"

Laguna's grin was sheepish. "The Bravest Moomba."

"Somehow, that's not surprising," Raine remarked. "I remember I liked the one about the flower girl the most, even though it was sad. There was a lot of hope in that story. I remember asking my mother to read that one to me over and over again."

Laguna struggled to remember the story. "Yeah, I don't think I liked that one too much. The flower girl saved the day at the end, but... Yeah, the story was kinda sad."

"Who read those stories to you?"

He shrugged, "No one that I remember. I do remember reading them by myself when I was four or five. I loved books when I was little."

"That young? Did your parents teach you to read before you went to school?"

"They must have, but I don't remember it. It just seems like reading was something that I've always done."

Raine grinned into her teacup. She thought that he had devoured the books she brought him when he was bed-ridden because he was bored. Not much time for reading during war, he had said. "I would have never thought of you as a bookish child. I would have thought that you were a little hellion, running around and getting into everything."

There was a soft chuckle. "When I could, I was." He leaned back into the couch and sighed. "Man, sitting here like this feels good. My back still wasn't quite ready for that kind of work today."

"Personally, I'm amazed that you're walking already." Raine watched the goldfish swim in their bowl. "We thought that you might never walk at all. That you recovered this well is a miracle."

"Maybe the faeries aren't done with me yet," he remarked idly.

Shaking her head, Raine quipped, "You and faeries."

The night wore on in peaceful quiet, as they finished their tea. They could hear the sounds of Ellone sleeping. Suddenly the whimpers became more distressed and built up into a howling cry of "Mommy!"

Before Raine could get up from her chair, Laguna grabbed his crutch and vaulted himself up and towards Ellone's bed. She was sitting up, tears running down her face, as she cried, "Mommy!" over and over again. Laguna sat on the edge of her bed and gathered the little girl in his arms. His voice was low as he held her close. "Elle, it's okay. It's okay. We're here."

Raine sat on the other side of Ellone. "What's wrong?" she asked the little girl as she ran her fingers through Ellone's short hair.

Through her sobs, she managed say, "Mommy... Fell down!"

Raine's brows knitted in confusion, but an icy lance of realization pierced Laguna. He clutched her tighter, curling over her as if he could physically protect her from her pain and fear. "It's all right, Elle. It's all right. It was just a bad dream. I know that you're scared and lonely right now, but that will go away and you won't remember any of it. It's all just a bad dream." He felt something warm seep through his shirt and onto his skin. _'Aw, man... She's getting snotty nosed, isn't she?'_

As her tears subsided, he tried to detach from her, but she held tight. Raine sighed and continued to comb her fingers through the short brown hair. "She dreamed about what happened next door, didn't she?"

Laguna nodded.

"She hasn't dreamed about that in a while."

"It was probably triggered by what happened today," he guessed, "I'm really sorry, Raine. I didn't want to scare her."

"I know." Raine tugged at Ellone, "Come on, back to bed. Laguna needs to go to bed too."

Ellone vigorously shook her head and clung to his shirt. "Don't go!"

The eyes of the adults met and they sighed in unison. Laguna carefully loosened the grip of one little hand. "I'll stay for a little while, okay?"

Ellone's grip transferred from his shirt to his arm as she was tucked back into bed. In the end, Laguna found that it was far more comfortable to lie on top of the covers next to her. Raine carried the tea service back downstairs to wash it and put it away.

As Ellone drifted to sleep, she clutched his arm tighter, as if it were a favorite stuffed toy. "Daddy," she murmured.

Laguna eyed her with alarm. _'Uh-oh. Don't get too attached. I have to leave soon. Besides, even if I could stay, I could never replace your father.'_ He knew that he did not even have a chance of adopting her if he wanted to. He had no home, no family, nothing. On top of that, he was single and had no clue on how to raise children. Wait, why was he even entertaining the thought of adopting Ellone? She belonged with Raine!


	4. Mail Call

Standard Disclaimer: FFVIII belongs to Square-Enix, yadda yadda yadda… You know the rest.

* * *

_One Good Shoulder – Chapter Four_

Laguna opened his bleary eyes and his heart froze. This ceiling wasn't right. Where was he? Did he get transferred? Wait, no. No more transfers to godforsaken places. Besides, sleeping soldiers weren't just transported from one barrack to another while they slumbered. There was usually a lot of yelling and cursing involved. This was no barrack, either. Sitting up, he realized that he was still in Raine's loft above the pub. He was on top of the blankets of Ellone's bed, though there was no Ellone there. In fact, there was no one around. Daylight glowed through the windows, telling him that it was morning.

His nostrils twitched as they caught the delectable scent of cooking bacon. He stiffly got out of bed and followed his nose to the kitchen. Leaning on the doorframe, he saw Raine cooking breakfast. "G'mornin'," he greeted, "Why didn't you wake me up last night?"

"I couldn't bring myself to wake you with Ellone clinging to you like that," Raine grinned.

Laguna sat down at the table. "Yeah, I guess I couldn't have got away if I wanted to."

After breakfast was served and eaten, Raine and Laguna went into the pub and prepared it for the coming visitors. Chairs were pulled from their upturned positions atop the tables and thunked onto the floor upright. Raine did this with quick ease, while Laguna took his time. The bar was checked and Raine disappeared into the storeroom, needing a fresh keg to replace a spent one.

The shrill squeak of the mailbox being opened made Laguna wince. _'Hm... Gotta oil that. It's nice to know that the mail's here, but that's a little harsh on the ears.'_ He retrieved the mail and flipped through it as he limped back to the bar. He set the daily newspaper on the bar top, while Raine lugged the new keg in. _'Just a little while longer,'_ he thought absently,_ 'And I could do that for her. Someone as small as Raine shouldn't be doing that.'_

"Hey, Raine," he chirped, "Your girly magazine is here." He set the pastel-covered issue next to the paper, as Raine began trading out the old keg. Glancing at the cover model for a moment, he idly flipped through the pages of the magazine. Stopping at a bra advertisement, his gaze lingered on the barely-clothed woman in the picture. _'Nice...'_

Raine stood up and saw where Laguna's appreciative stare rested. She snatched the magazine away, startling him. "Men!" She tossed the magazine out of reach and returned to the kegs.

Laguna scratched at his head, and then returned to flipping through the mail. "Bill for Raine. Bill for Raine. Junk mail for Raine. Hey! A coupon for twenty percent off at District Six!" He paused and scratched at his head again. "What's at District Six?"

"Women's clothes," Raine answered from beneath the bar.

"Oh." He put the coupon on top of the bills. The next piece of mail made his heart jump. On the envelope was the seal of the Galbadian army and it was addressed to him.

The sound of the envelope opening brought Raine's head above the bar. "What is that?"

Laguna breathed a sigh of relief as he read the first paper. "My Honorable Discharge certificate and card. Man, I was starting to get worried about these. I kinda need 'em if I wanna get a job legally. They also are my proof against being drafted again. Hopefully."

"Your seventh month here begins... tomorrow, I think," Raine informed, "That's a long time to get that to you."

He clicked his thumbnail against the multiple address labels overlaid on each other on the envelope. "Yeah. I knew it would take a while for the paperwork to be processed and stuff, but it took longer than I expected. Looks like this made a few stops on the way. Which I don't get, since the army knows I'm here. They interviewed me as soon as I was coherent again."

"It sounded more like an interrogation." When Laguna raised a brow at her, Raine admitted, "I came up to the door to check on you a few times."

"I guess they wanted to make sure that I didn't spill anything to the Estharians and that I wasn't a deserter. I hope the information I gave to the officers was useful. I have no clue what was going on at the site, but maybe they do." The next slip of paper from the packet brought a bright smile to his face. "Hey! My terminal leave check!"

"Severance pay?"

Laguna shook his head. "This is from the days of leave that I never took. See, soldiers get so many days off during the year. So, they can either take those days of leave or just stay on duty and cash them in each year. I don't take very many days of leave, since I would probably blow my money in some bar. I do that enough just with an evening free in the town, so I don't need a whole day to do it. And I don't have any family to spend holidays with, so I usually stay on duty and keep myself busy. Last year, me and the guys took a few days off on a long weekend just to relax for a bit after a really hard mission, 'cause I promised that if we made it through we would do more than go to a bar and look at the piano lady. I think that's all the leave I took for that year." He released another deep breath. "Man, I'm so glad this came. I was really getting worried. I haven't exactly been the model soldier."

Raine reached over the bar and poked at the long hair that draped over the right side of his face. "I can tell. It's not very regulation, is it?"

He absently pushed his hair back and grinned. "Yeah. It was short through all of my first tour. I used to have it really long before then. I just kept it short enough to tuck into the coif under the helmet after I reenlisted for another tour. Well, unless I was going up for my promotion interview. To get promoted to Sergeant and above, you have to get interviewed by a group of officers. Then it's cut the hair short and dust off the dress uniform. I went in for my Sergeant's interview three times. Didn't get the promotion the first two times. They finally realized my potential for the rank the third time."

"That, or they were getting desperate."

Laguna ignored the comment. "It been a couple years, actually a few years, since then. After I got promoted, I was doing mostly extended scout and recon work, so there wasn't that much supervision. You what's way uncool? Doing urban scouting and then finding out that some red bull got impatient and started an attack on your scout site! I guess he got the okay to do a surprise attack. Man, did it surprise me! Me and the guys were scrambling to get out without getting hit by either side! Man, that was way uncool. My orders were to just do a bit of scouting, find out the status of the city, see what we would have to deal with, then report our findings to the field commander. They never knew an attack was coming until it was almost too late. They knew that Galbadia was talkin' down on the Timber army getting mobilized, but... Yeah, they didn't think much of a few bluelegs wandering around town. Enough of us took leave there before. Or desert to there. At least me and the guys didn't have to stick around. We got sent to Deling for our next assignment after that. Me and Kiros would just stick our hair in the coifs and plunk on the helmets. Man, I hated those helmets. Couldn't hear or see worth crap. If I had it my way, I would totally redesign our battle gear. Blue and silver is not good camouflage."

Raine was nodding along as she finished trading out the kegs. Laguna's voice was a drone in the background. "So, are you going to grow your hair long again?" she asked, "If you keep this up, it will be as long as mine in no time."

He glanced down at the dark mane that fell over his shoulder. Picking up a tendril, he held it in front of his face. "Uh, yeah... I guess it would. I should get it trimmed up soon, before some drunk starts thinkin' I'm his girlfriend from February of last year."

Raine snickered, "Has that actually happened?"

Laguna rubbed at the back of his neck. "I would like to say not, but, uh... Heh. That was before I joined the army."

Shaking her head, Raine continued to snicker. Soon, the laughter faded and her tone became quiet. "You said you didn't have any family? Are they all dead?"

There was a moment's pause before Laguna answered. "Yeah. Well, the ones that I know of, anyways."

"The ones that you know of?" Raine echoed, "What does that mean?"

He picked up his papers and put them back in the envelope that they came in. "I should go put this away before I forget about it. I don't wanna lose this." He pushed himself away from the bar and shuffled to the door.

Raine fought the urge to throw a glass at the back of his retreating head until he closed the door behind him. Outside, Laguna looked down at the envelope and took a deep breath. _'I guess I should go to Deling soon and see how Julia's doing.'_ Exhaling, he started the slow progress without his crutch to the house next door.


	5. Harlequin Romance

Standard Disclaimer: FFVIII belongs to Square-Enix, yadda yadda yadda… You know the rest.

* * *

_One Good Shoulder – Chapter Five_

Laguna soon returned to the pub, ready to work. Ellone went upstairs to play, which kept her out of the way. In the kitchen, Raine set bread dough in front of her scullery boy. "Knead this, while I get the rest of the food ready."

Looking at the lump of dough, Laguna rolled up his sleeves. After squishing the sticky pale mass on the flour-covered board, he grinned. "Like this?"

Raine nodded and then returned to her cutting board. "If you want to, you can punch it a little." The sudden, hard thump startled her. Laguna had his fist half-buried in the dough. "Ah... Not quite so hard. It's more of a... friendly punch."

"Oh! Okay." He folded and punched the dough again, this time with audibly less force. "Like this?"

"That's good. If the dough gets too sticky, sprinkle a little flour on it." Shaking her head, Raine grinned. "Have you ever made bread before?"

Laguna shook his head. "Nope. Actually, I've never done any cooking in a kitchen. Washed dishes, yeah. But the only cooking I've done is out on the field with rations. Um, how long do I do this?" He pointed to the dough.

"Just a little longer."

Soon, Raine took the dough away from him and set it a pan, before she slid it into the oven. With that done, she had Laguna chop up some vegetables, and then had him start washing what they used to prepare food on.

When the first customer entered the pub for lunch, Raine disappeared from the kitchen to tend to the bar. Though he was out of sight, Laguna could still hear almost everything said in the other room. As he waited for new dishes to either fill or clean, he leaned against the counter. The door alerted him to more customers and the pub's day soon entered full swing. Conversation filled the pub and he quickly found himself busy again.

One thread of conversation between Raine and one of the old men caught Laguna's ear. He recognized the voice as belonging to Phil. "I don't see that soldier. That's good. You oughta send him out before he becomes trouble."

"He's not much trouble," Raine replied, "He works for his keep, which makes things easier for me."

"Well, don't keep him close. It don't look good for a fine young lady like you to have someone like him hanging around all the time. It's bad enough that you have to run the pub yourself."

"My mother did," Raine countered.

"Your mother was a respectable widow," was the answer, "If she didn't want to remarry, that was her choice. Though I think it was a shame she didn't. Bless her, earning for and raising her family. It's a good thing Ellone's family helped out as much as they did."

Laguna paused in his duties and leaned closer to the door.

Another man's voice spoke and he recognized it as belonging to Ed, "So, how is little Ellone?"

"She's doing well," replied Raine, "Have you heard if anyone will take her?"

There was a moment's pause, then, "Sorry, Raine. No luck so far."

A third man's voice blurted, "Then what she needs is a good husband! Then she can keep Ellone!" That was Joe.

Phil grumbled, "An' where is she going to find one? There's just little boys and old men in this town!"

Ed added, "And those soldiers aren't much good either. Raine can find better than them."

Laguna staggered back as Raine brought in a dirtied dish. A blush tinted her face and her shoulders were taught. Laguna took the dish from her and she disappeared back into the bar.

Joe pointed out, "And with that piece of driftwood hanging around her all the time, men won't want to approach. What kind of man wears his hair like that, anyways?"

Ed muttered, "I bet ya he's a gypsy. Did you see that ring in his ear? No normal man would pierce his ear. My wife's been sayin' that he looks like a gypsy."

_'Gypsy?'_ Laguna mouthed, not sure if he was amused or not.

Joe assented, "Yeah, now that you mention it, he don't look like he's really Galbadian. An' what kind of man would have a girly name like Laguna?" Laguna shot an offended glare at the wall between him and the men. Joe continued without pause. "An' ain't his eyes green or somethin'?"

"Yeah, yeah, I think so," Ed agreed, "My wife would know all about gypsies. She's read about 'em in books."

Raine's voice broke into the exchange, "I don't think harlequin books count as reliable sources."

The old men ignored her. Ed added, "I bet he's after Ellone. Just waitin' for a chance to steal her off."

Laguna facepalmed in the kitchen.

Phil spoke again. "Are you sure he's just after Ellone? What if he's waiting to steal Raine, too?"

_'Yep, this really sounds like stuff from those cheesy romance novels that Raine trades around with the other ladies in town,'_ Laguna thought to himself. He had read all of those that Raine handed to him. He still remembered her look of surprise when he first accepted one to read. The cover didn't do much for him, though the damsel draped in her lover's arms was worth a second look. Then he blinked as the recollection turned into an image of himself, decked out like some movie gypsy, leaning over a swooning bar-wench Raine in his arms. He blinked again at the image and a wide grin cracked over his face. Raine definitely wasn't one to go for a corset-and-cleavage look, but, hey, this was his imagination, so he would go with it.

When Raine reentered the kitchen, she found Laguna doubled over with one hand clasped over his mouth and the other gripping the counter for balance. His entire body was shuddering with convulsive, suppressed laughter. His gaze fell on her and he couldn't hold it in any longer.

Raine crossed her arms irately. "What's so funny?"

Tears were streaming from Laguna's face as he gasped for breath. "Gypsy! Bar-wench! Book!" were the only words he could force out.

"What?"

Laguna managed to breathe again and the laughter died down to chuckles. "It's a book! One big cheesy novel! Heck, _I_ could write it. Have to use a penname, 'cause there's no way I would stick my real name on something like that. Especially if I'm trying to start a journalism career."

Raine's brows were knotted, "What are you talking about?"

Laguna's grin did not diminish. "See, a gypsy man comes into a one-chocobo town and stays for a while. He finds out that there's an evil Witch-Queen after a little girl there and the townsfolk can't do much about it. He helps out a bar-wench, sorry, it's gotta be a bar-wench. Those books can't afford to saddle the heroine with too much responsibility or she can't go adventurin'. But the townsfolk eventually see through the gypsy's clever disguise and accuse him of trying to steal the little girl and the wench. 'Cause you know he's handsome enough to steal all of the town's women, if he wanted to." Laguna winked at Raine and continued to limp around the kitchen. "Nevermind that gypsies don't really steal little kids. They don't even call themselves gypsies unless they're talking to outsiders who wouldn't get a clue otherwise. So, the gypsy man decides to take the little girl and the wench away from the mean little town, 'cause they didn't want to be stuck there anyways, and they ride off on his black chocobo. It's gotta be a black chocobo. There's an image to keep, after all. And then they travel the world, staying one step ahead of the Witch-Queen. Of course, there's gonna be adventures along the way, like treasure hunting and stuff." He put on a burbling accent and held out his hand to her, like he had seen in a movie long ago. "Come with me and I will take you to lands beyond imagination." The attempt at a smouldering facade broke as he tried to keep the laughter down.

Raine was sharing the grin by this point and leaned against the counter with her arms crossed. "So, how do the gypsy and the wench manage to do all of this adventuring with a three-and-a-half year-old in tow?"

"Uh..." Laguna's smile fell and he scratched at his head. "Hrm. Gonna have to think on that one."

"And, eventually, they'll have to face the evil Witch-Queen and win. That's how those stories go," Raine pointed out, "How would they do that?"

"Oh, man... Didn't think of that."

While Laguna pondered those plot points, Raine asked, "So, what about the gypsy man?"

"Huh? What about him?"

"Well, you'll have to develop his character in the book, right? Does he have any family to go to? Who were his parents?"

"He won't have any family to go to. He's all alone," Laguna replied, "His parents? Um... His parents... They're dead. He doesn't remember anything about them, 'cause they died when he was real little. He never even knew their names until he was able to get access to his own birth record. Man, that's a pain in the ass. Then getting the records needed to track down family was a pain too. It cost more money than he really could afford to part with at the time."

Raine leaned forward, "So, how did his parents die?"

"The town they lived in got destroyed. The gypsy boy was hurt really bad, but he lived. It took a long time for him to heal up and recover. I don't think some of the injuries ever completely healed right. So, with no family to take him, he went to an orphanage, then another orphanage, then another orphanage, and then a foster family. No one ever wanted him though. And... And... Raine, you have customers." Laguna jerked his chin towards the door to the pub. "I think they'll start a riot if you don't take care of them soon."

Raine looked to the door, and then to Laguna. Sighing, she returned to the bar, apologizing to her patrons for the delay.


	6. Two Drink Minimum

Standard Disclaimer: FFVIII belongs to Square-Enix, yadda yadda yadda… You know the rest.

* * *

_One Good Shoulder – Chapter Six  
_

Ellone was put to bed and Laguna carefully climbed down the stairs to the pub. "Mission accomplished," he quipped with a grin.

Raine filled a couple of glasses with local beer. "Good work." She came around the bar and sat on one of the stools. When Laguna sat beside her, she offered him one of the glasses.

"Thanks." Laguna took a swig of the brew, savoring it. "Man, I like the beers you keep here, Raine. They don't smell or taste like rice-piss."

"Uh, thanks, Laguna." She took a sip from her own glass. "I try to serve local brews as often as possible. When the shipping costs are accounted for, the big brands cost just as much as the microbrews around here."

"An' they taste a helluva lot better," he grinned. "I bet this area could get famous for a lot more than pretty flowers, if people knew about the beers here. Winhill Beerfest! Man, that would be so awesome."

Raine stared down at the amber-colored drink in her glass. She didn't want to imagine a throng of sloshed outsiders wandering through her town and trashing it. Laguna was more than enough for Winhill as far as the residents were concerned. At least the flower festival brought in a tamer group and the town smelled floral instead of fermented. "I suppose. But we're just happy enough to ship out to buyers, rather than attract crowds in. Especially drunken ones."

"Yeah, I guess so." After another hearty swig, he chattered. "Y'know a great place to start writing articles about would be? Balamb. I haven't been there yet. There's supposed to be some great fish over there and I bet there's some cool places that tourists usually bypass. And it's mild in Balamb. But to get the money to go there, I should probably start on some other locations that are closer first. I bet I could do a really awesome article on Deling night life."

Raine raised a brow. "Really?"

"Yeah. Where to get good drinks and cheap drinks. Where to find posh digs, fun dives, places to dance, an' stuff. Just good ways to kinda forget about tomorrow without killing yourself. But you gotta be careful about drinkin' too much, or else you end up wakin' up somewhere weird an' not rememberin' how you got there."

Covering her mouth, Raine snickered, "I imagine you have a few stories to tell about that kind of situation."

"Oh, yeah," he agreed after a drink, "But at least I never woke up with a hooker's name tattooed on my butt."

Brows raised on a pale face. "I take you know someone who has and I won't ask any further."

"Yeah, that was kinda the punchline of the story, anyways." Laguna raised his half-emptied glass slightly. "The rest of the story is just a bunch of guys chantin' "Chug! Chug! Chug!" before it fades to black."

"No surprise there." Raine sipped her own beer. "Today, when you were talking about writing that silly gypsy story, are you actually going to do that?"

"If it brings in some cash, why not?" He took another drink before adding, "I won't if you don't want me to, though. I'll just have to listen in on the old farts for some more good story ideas. They're so full of it, I'll never run outta material." A broad smile lifted his face.

Chuckling, Raine shook her head. "You can write that story if you want, as long as I get to read it before it goes anywhere."

"Sure thing! I'll even let ya have some of the profits." He winked at her. "I woulda never got inspired if it wasn't for workin' in your kitchen."

"About that," Raine said, "Thanks. You've been a real help and made running the pub a lot easier. It's nice just to have an extra set of hands."

"Hey, no prob. I owe you anyways. I just figure that this is a way to earn my keep and work off the debt." There was a brief moment of silence before Laguna spoke again. "Hey, Raine. I heard the old farts say that your mom was a widow and that she used to run the pub. I haven't seen her around..." He rolled the glass between his hands, fidgeting.

"That's because she died a few years ago," Raine quietly replied, looking over the empty tables and their upturned chairs. "She had cancer and we never knew about it until it was too late to do much for her."

"Oh. I'm sorry." He frowned at those words. They seemed so shallow, so inadequate, that he wondered why he even said them at all. But what else could he say?

Raine put the glass to her lips, noting the awkwardness in Laguna's tone and posture. After a sip of the brew, she shrugged. "It's alright. I suppose I should be thankful that she was with me for as long as she was."

"Do you miss her?"

She nodded. "Though not as much as I used to. With Ellone here, and now you, it's not so quiet and lonely here anymore. It's probably a good thing we had to sell the house to pay for the medical bills. I would probably never stay in it if it were empty. The loft upstairs doesn't need as much to fill it. But, it's just that sometimes, I wish she was here so I could talk to her. There's so much I want to ask her now. Like how to take care of Ellone or about her recipes or just... things I never thought of while she was alive." Glancing up at the sturdy wooden beams that supported the ceiling, she took a deep breath. "Laguna?"

"Hmm?"

"If you had the chance, what would you ask your mother?"

There was the stutter of verbal misfiring as he searched for evasive words. Finally, he managed to say, "I don't know."

Raine tilted her head as she looked at him. "You don't?"

Dark hair waved as he shook his head. "I've never thought about something like that. When I was a little kid, I used to fantasize that I would be in a family like in books or on t.v., but... I-I never really thought about what I would _say_ to my parents, real or adopted, just what we would do. So, I don't know what I would ask my mother. I never really knew her and I guess I came out okay. It's not like there's a burnin' question hangin' over my head." He rubbed at his right thigh. "But, I guess if I was to ask her anything, I would ask her where I could find a picture of her and my dad. Then I would know what they looked like and maybe then I might remember something about them." His head jerked up. "That picture of Elle's parents, we gotta make sure that she keeps that, even if she gets taken to an orphanage. Even if she can't remember them, she'll at least know what they looked like."

A quiet nod was Raine's reply. Ellone in an orphanage? It seemed so inevitable, no matter how hard she tried to change it. No families in Winhill were both willing and able to take the girl in. Raine alone would not be allowed to keep her. Her fist and jaw clenched at the unfairness of it all. Ellone didn't need to be taken away. Raine knew she could take care of her. But life wasn't fair, she reminded herself, and laws decided in the grand buildings of a distant city didn't care.

Laguna lowered his head so that his eyes were level with hers. "Raine? You okay?"

She nodded again and sipped from her glass. Another deep breath exhaled. "What would it be like for Ellone in an orphanage?"

"Elle?" Laguna thought for a moment and ran his fingers through his hair. "Well, she would have plenty of other kids to play with until she got adopted. For a healthy, cute little girl like Elle, that won't be long. And she has the bonus of being past the diaper stage, but not yet at the awkward stage. Yeah, I'm sure she would find a family really quick. She wouldn't have to stay long. I don't know how she would feel about the adults being busy trying to take care of all of the kids at once and not giving her much attention, though. Some kids are okay with it, others aren't." He sighed and shifted on the seat. "Man... I don't wanna see her go to one. Not when she's already wanted."

A silence fell in the dim bar as both Raine and Laguna looked down at their glasses. Soon, the soft creaking of the old house settling replaced the conversation, as if the walls were muttering to each other. Laguna opened his mouth and took a breath to speak, and then thought it was a better idea to finish his beer.

It was Raine who spoke first. "Earlier today, you mentioned something about being in three different orphanages. Can you tell me about them? Will Ellone be in places like them?"

Laguna swallowed a mouthful of beer before answering. "Um... Yeah, I guess I did say something about that. Well, I don't remember much about the first orphanage, but it was a place for kids with, uh, special needs. I was in bad shape for a while when I was little, 'cause I was hurt pretty bad, so I ended up there so I could heal up. So, Ellone wouldn't go to a place like that. There's nothing wrong with her body or her mind. As soon as I was healed up, I had to leave. I still needed a crutch because my leg was no good, but not a lot of kids got adopted from that place, so they sent them out to normal orphanages if they could."

"Was it your right leg that was hurt?"

Laguna nodded. "It was the worst injury, yeah."

"I thought that was an old war wound."

He shrugged and replied, "I know it looks kinda nasty still, but at least I can walk on it without limping. Well, when I'm not all beat up to begin with, that is. The last of that limp in my normal walk didn't go away until I got into bootcamp. It still acts up now and then, though. I don't think that's ever gonna go away."

"Oh?"

"Yeah." Laguna rubbed at his thigh, as if thinking about it would cause the dreaded event. "If I let myself get all tense and nervous-like, it cramps up. I kinda had to practice keeping myself relaxed. If it locks up in a middle of a fight, I'm screwed. I know that the guys look at me funny when I start sayin' weird stuff in the middle of a fight when it's trying to cramp up, but it works. But sometimes, I can't get myself to relax or focus on other stuff and I'm left with a bum leg. If I'm not in a fight, I try to walk it off fast when it happens, but it doesn't always work. Then the guys laugh at me, 'cause I'm gimpin' around an' makin' an fool of myself." He emptied his glass in one last gulp. _'Negative three on the manliness scale… Yep.'_ "Kinda sorry lookin'."

"Hm." Raine set her glass down on the bartop. "What about the other orphanages? Ellone wouldn't go to one like the first. Would she be sent to one like the others?"

"Well, I was only at the second one for maybe a couple years before it got shut down. Didn't have enough money or something like that. I didn't like being there. I got picked on a lot by the other boys. They would take my crutch away from me and put it on the other end of the room, building, field, whatever and watch me go get it. You would think it got old after the first dozen times." He shook his head. "I guess I should thank them for it though. My leg got stronger because of it and I decided that I didn't want to use a crutch anymore. Can't take away what's not there, right? Man, the names they would call me... I hated it there. The adults would try to put a stop to it all, but they couldn't be everywhere all the time. Got into my first fight there." Laguna grinned, "Took my crutch to the leader boy's face. Man, was I in trouble for that, but it was so worth it."

Raine couldn't help but share his grin. "I bet it was."

"Oh, yeah. He wanted the crutch, so I gave it to him. He shoulda known better than to pick on runty little crippled kids, anyways." Laguna leaned against the bar, resting his elbows on the smooth top. "Elle wouldn't have to deal with that kind of crap. I bet she would make plenty of friends there and not get picked on much. Besides, if a boy ever hit her, all she would have to do is cry and he would get in big trouble." The angle of his brows became steeper as he thought. "Should I try to teach her how to defend herself? Just in case? She's a little girl, so I don't know if that's cool or not."

The thought of Laguna trying to teach Ellone how to fight made Raine shake her head. "I think she's a little young for that, yet."

"Yeah."

"Was the orphanage after that better?"

Laguna shrugged. "Kinda. But a few of the boys that picked on me in the last one also ended up there. So, it was more of the same. I didn't have my crutch anymore and put up with being slow and limping everywhere because of that. At least that orphanage had a library in it, 'cause we also went to school there. I used to hide in there all the time. The other boys didn't like books so much and we had to be quiet in the library, so they didn't follow me in. Ellone might like a place like that, as long as she got along with enough of the other kids. There were plenty places to play and stuff. Kids were always getting adopted from there, too. I don't know how I ended up there, except by chance. Elle would get adopted real quick from a place like that. She wouldn't have to be sent out to a foster family or anything when she got too old to stay at the orphanage."

Propping her elbow on the bartop, Raine set her chin in her hand. "Too old? But couldn't the older kids help out at the orphanage?"

"Yeah, but... I didn't find this out until later, when I talked to someone who knew how the place worked, but, um..." He rubbed at the back of his neck. "Even though the boys and girls had rooms on opposite sides of the building, they, uh, kinda didn't want to keep kids around past the point that they got over cooties."

"Past cooties?" Then her eyes widened in realization. "Oh."

"Yeah. That orphanage wasn't set up to handle babies, anyways. So, they would get the kids outta there by the time they were twelve, thirteen at the latest. But, when kids get that old, they're not gonna get adopted unless they came in a package deal with a younger sibling, so they go on to foster families until they're eighteen. Well, that's how it's supposed to work." He yawned and stretched. "I don't think Elle will have to worry about that. Even if you can't keep her, someone will want her." Pushing himself away from the bar, Laguna added, "But we have some time still. We should be able to figure out a way to keep her here." Then a lopsided grin slid onto his face. "Who knows, maybe she won't get adopted from an orphanage and she'll come back here and be with you. You're still able to be a foster parent, right?"

Raine nodded, even though she did not like the thought to Ellone leaving at all. Besides, if Ellone left and came back years later, would she still be the same little girl she loved? How would being away at an orphanage change her? While in her thoughts, she barely heard Laguna speak.

"I gotta get to bed before I fall asleep on your bar," he announced, "G'night, Raine. Thanks for the beer." A cold draft gushed into the pub as he opened the door. The click of the closing latch confirmed his departure.

Picking up the glasses and taking them to the kitchen, Raine was determined to ignore the emptiness of the pub. After cleaning them and putting them away, she locked the door, shut off the lights, and climbed the stairs. Her eyes could not avoid taking one more look at the dark and vacant pub. Her mind could not ignore the thought of every night being one alone. The darkness loomed behind her and she forced her steps to be even, fighting the urge to run up the stairs. Closing the door behind her, she took comfort in seeing that Ellone was safe and sleeping. Raine sat down on her own bed and took a deep breath. There wasn't much time left.


	7. In the Rain

Standard Disclaimer: FFVIII belongs to Square-Enix, yadda yadda yadda… You know the rest.

* * *

_One Good Shoulder – Chapter Seven_

Laguna came into the pub as he did every morning, ready for breakfast. Walking behind the bar and poking his head into the kitchen, he smiled. That smile fell when he saw that the kitchen was empty. His ears caught the sound of water running through the old pipes in the wall and the clanking of the water heater. _'Must be the shower upstairs.'_

Climbing up the stairs, he ventured into the loft. Sure enough, the bathroom door was closed and he could hear Raine arguing with Ellone about soap. Chuckling to himself, he sat down on the couch to wait. Raine's magazine sat on the coffee table and, before he knew it, it was in his hands. Leafing through the glossy pages, he would pause every now and then at a picture of a particularly attractive woman. The articles were not of much interest to him. This year's coming spring fashions for women? Not buying it or wearing it, thank you very much. Good hair and skin care? All of those perfumed bottles in Raine's bathroom made him feel like he was going to get turned into a fruit salad if he stayed in there too long. Why the heck would anybody put "strawberry passion" in their hair, anyways? He was not interested in smelling like passionate strawberries or attracting said strawberries. Recipes? Cooking frou-frou girly foods was not his thing. What's wrong with cooking out of a can with a heat tablet? Okay, he could see the answer to that one. What Raine made tasted a lot better than whatever he could contrive out on the field. _'Hey, there's that bra ad again! Nice... Would Raine get mad if I asked to keep this page?'_

He flipped the page to the entertainment section of the magazine. Hottest new actor debuting in "Loveless"? After a cursory glance to the headline, Laguna turned the page. He was not interested in chick flicks or the actors in them. It was the same for theatre productions. Who cared about some play called "I Want to Be Your Canary"? What kind of messed-up title was that? Whoever was fantasizing about being a songbird needed some serious help.

Finding the music section, he skimmed the headline, "Eyes On Me Newest Hit Single." Just as he was turning the page, the photo of a beautiful, young diva stopped his blood cold. "Julia!" He read through the article. _'It's her! It's really her! She wrote her song and sang it!'_ Elation filled him as he devoured the words_. 'Her dream. She has her dream. I gotta go hear her sing! But how do I find her? I don't think she's at the hotel anymore. The telephone lines out of Winhill are out of commission, thanks to the monsters, especially those big blue buzzards. A letter? I've tried, but I don't know her address.'_ He continued to read the article. _'The lovely Julia Heartilly is just recently engaged to military prodigy Colonel Caraway, reported by some sources to be on the fast track to Brigadier General...'_ He stared at the words on the page and reread them, the elation collapsing into the pit of his stomach. _'Engaged? Engaged? No way! Engaged? To... To a red bull?'_ Reading further, he learned more. _'...Her true love went off to war and never came back. Caraway approached her while she was devastated by this loss. He comforted her...'_ Laguna threw the magazine down on the table. "I'm not dead yet!"

Raine's voice called out from behind the bathroom door. "Laguna? What was that?"

"N-Nothing!" he answered.

_'Why didn't she wait? Why did she think I was dead? It's not uncommon for deployments to last a year, sometimes two. I wasn't dead, just MIA for a little while. Who told her I was dead?'_ Staring down at the offending page, he tried to calm himself. _'You're jumping to conclusions, man. Maybe it's someone else that she's talking about. You only talked to her once before you got shipped out. Why do you think that it was you?'_ Laguna limped across the room, fighting the leg cramp that latched onto him in his moment of weakness. _'I don't know. I just do. We... I... I just do.'_ He ran his fingers through his hair and stared up at the ceiling. _'Does it matter? Even if she was talking about you, why should she wait for a blue-legged grunt when there's someone of his caliber at her door? If he can make her happy, then that's all that matters. Right?'_ His hand dropped to his side. _'I guess. But-'_

The bathroom door opened and Ellone bolted out. "Next time, _you_ can give her a bath," a soaked Raine said as she stepped out into the main room. "Laguna?" He was nowhere in sight. The muted sound of the door closing downstairs was the only response. On the coffee table was the open magazine. Crossing her arms, Raine shook her head. "Maybe I should get him a subscription of his own."

Laguna stepped out into the midwinter drizzle and watched his breath steam out in a billowing cloud. "Now what?" Trudging back to the house next door, he tried to collect his thoughts. _'There's no way I can just go see Julia now. That would be kinda awkward. At least I'm not a soldier anymore. I can't just be sent away on some godforsaken suicide mission and pushed out of the picture again. But I'm already out of the picture. Face it, Laguna. You don't have a chance.'_ He scowled as he opened the door. He didn't like that tone of thought. _'I don't? What do I not have a chance at? Hearing her sing? Enjoying her company? This whole engagement thing might not work out, anyways.'_ He shook his head and climbed the stairs. "Stop thinkin'," he commanded himself. Easier said than done, despite what some of his past comrades would say. However, there was one refuge from his mind that he could turn to.

He unlocked the cabinet where he kept his gun and picked up the weapon. His hands went through the automatic motions of reloading it and he slung it over his shoulder. Soon, the chill, damp air hit his skin again when he left the house and closed the door behind him. A wave and a few words to the soldiers standing at miserable duty, and then he was crossing the town square. A bite bug flitted near the bench by the swollen, muddy river. Lifting his gun, Laguna aimed and fired a few rounds into the monster, dropping it. A second one was felled over the river and it landed in the icy cold water, where it was whisked downstream.

Standing at the bridge, he looked across it and down the muddy road. In all of his time here, he had yet to leave the town square. His entire world consisted of the pub, the house next door, and the path in between. Glancing over his shoulder, he looked back on that tiny little world. Across the bridge, the road beckoned to him. He had regained enough of his strength now to answer its familiar call. Hollow footsteps thudded over the wooden planks, leaving the square behind.

The road stretched out beneath his feet and, despite the growing sprinkle that fell on him, he enjoyed letting out his stride, as the leg cramp subsided. Building his pace up into a steady, ground-eating march, he worked out the last of the limp. An amused grin spread across his face when he passed by the chocobo crossing sign. _'Go figure this place would have one.'_ However, he did not see any chocobos around. Instead, there were a few Caterchipillars inching through the fallow fields and past broken fences. Raising his gun again, Laguna tested his marksmanship on the squirming green creatures. Once they were still, he lowered his weapon and wiped the rain off of his nose. Continuing on, he passed by a quaint house with smoke curling up from its chimney. There was a side path that wound around a hill, but he decided not to take that way this time. He could see the steeple of the church and that was his landmark to follow on his journey.

The other end of town was quiet under the growing storm. Windows were closed and shuttered while the rain drummed on the roofs and poured from the gutters. Laguna's march slowed to a leisurely stroll as he surveyed the buildings, comparing them to Raine's descriptions. The houses, the church, the inn, and the general store endured the weather, standing quietly with their faded sides and mossy roofs. Finally, he stood at the end of town and looked out towards the snowy mountains that dominated the horizon. The road continued on, winding through the foothills to places unseen. His feet remained still as he considered the path ahead.

The road would always be there. It was constant, even as it changed. The places along it would remain. It was the people who disappeared, carried away onto one new path or another. Sometimes, the paths would briefly cross, but more often, they would never meet again. He glanced to the village behind him. If he left it, Laguna mused, he was unlikely to ever return again. His path did not like crossing the same thing twice. Perhaps the faeries had something to do with it? With one more look to the mountains, he turned to the village. He still had an unpaid debt to make good on. His road could wait just a little longer.

Raine's eyes widened when Laguna stepped into the pub, tracking mud and dripping water on the floor as he walked towards the kitchen. His soaked clothes clung to his skin and his hair was plastered to his head and neck. His machine gun was still slung over his shoulder. "Laguna!" Raine blocked him from going behind the bar and pointed to the puddles on the floor. "Laguna!" She gestured wildly at the mess that walked through her door. "What happened? Wait, no... Save it. Get out of here and go clean up! After that, you can mop the floor before we open. For heaven's sake, Laguna, I just cleaned it!"

Laguna tilted his head, and then looked at his wet tracks. "Oh... Uh, sorry 'bout that."

Raine tossed her hands into the air in exasperation. "You better be glad that Ellone didn't know you were outside. She does _not_ need to be encouraged to run out into a storm. I swear, of all the people she has to try to copy... Do you know what she said today?" Before Laguna could muster an answer, she continued, "While you were out playing in the rain, she told me that she had to "take a piss" when she had to go to use the toilet! She's not even four years old yet and she's saying that! I certainly never taught her that one! How many times have I told you to watch your mouth around her?"

Laguna squirmed under accusing Raine's glare. "I don't remember sayin' that in front of her!" When Raine crossed her arms, he hastily jerked a thumb to the pub's door. "Um, I'm gonna clean up like you told me to an' then I'll mop th' floor." As Raine sternly nodded to him, Laguna ducked his head and bid a quick retreat towards the house next door.

Before the door closed behind him, Raine called out. "I'll have breakfast done soon, so don't take too long!"

Just for a moment, Laguna had to wonder if Julia would have cooked breakfast for him. Though, now with her star status, he was willing to put his bet on her just calling room service. Not that there was anything wrong with room service, of course.


	8. At Arm's Length

Standard Disclaimer: FFVIII belongs to Square-Enix, yadda yadda yadda… You know the rest.

* * *

_One Good Shoulder – Chapter Eight_

Laguna stared down at the well-worn wooden floor as he mopped it, trying to take great interest in the way the planks fitted together. Raine stepped out of the kitchen, wiping her hands on a towel. "You look thoughtful," she remarked, "Anything on your mind?"

His head snapped up. Rubbing the back of his neck, he started, "Well..." _'What the hell... Ask.'_ "Um... H-How would you react if a guy you never expected to see again showed up, but you were, like, with s-someone else?"

Raine slung the towel over her shoulder and crossed her arms. "That sounds like something out of the advice column of my magazine." She scrutinized him with blue eyes. "Have you actually been _reading_ it?"

He shuffled his feet sheepishly. "Um, yeah."

Shaking her head, Raine fought to urge to facepalm in front of Laguna. "Well, that would depend on a lot of things. I can't just give a quick answer to that question."

"Oh." The mop made a couple more passes across the floor.

"Any particular reason why you asked?"

"N-No. Just wonderin', that's all."

"Hm." Her sharp gaze settled on him again. "Well, since you read through the magazine, do you think "Loveless" will be any good?"

Laguna shrugged and put the mop in the bucket. "I dunno. As far as I know, movies with the word "love" in them are either chick flicks or pornos. You don't seem like a porno girl."

Ellone's voice piped up from the stairway. "What's a porno?"

The eyes of both adults widened. "Uh-oh," mumbled Laguna as Raine's shock turned into a glare squarely aimed at him. He turned around to the little girl that was hopping down the last few steps. "A porno is a grown-up movie with naked people in it," he answered as blandly as he could.

"Oh, okay." Ellone skipped towards the kitchen.

Laguna gave Raine a shrug and picked up the mop. Shaking her head, she pointed a finger at him. "You were lucky this time." When he simply smiled at her, she rolled her eyes. "Anyways, I was thinking that if it was any good, we could go make the drive out and go see the movie."

Blinking, Laguna paused in his mopping. _'Is she asking me out?'_ "Is this a date?"

Her expression was flat. "I wasn't thinking anything romantic. I just want to get out of the pub for a little while. I thought that since you've been cooped up here all this time, that you might want to get out for a little while, too."

Ellone swung around on the doorframe between the kitchen and the bar. "I wanna go!"

Raine looked down to the girl. "This is a grown-up movie, Ellone, so you won't be able to come. But you can go visit Isa, if we go."

"But I wanna go with yooooo!" Ellone whined.

Laguna leaned on the mop. "You can when there's a good kid's movie out. Then you'll have something that you'll like to go see. You just tell me which movie you want to go see, okay?"

She gave an emphatic nod, bouncing her short brown hair. "Okay! But you gotta help me find one, Uncle Laguna!"

"Alright," he agreed, "We can look in the paper for one, later."

The rest of the morning passed with little incident and the afternoon customers meandered in as they always did. Phil, Joe, and Ed sat on their stools at the bar, beer at their fingertips while Raine manned her station and Laguna worked in the kitchen.

Ellone danced out to the stools and jumped to a stop next to Phil. "Guess what!"

The old man's face crinkled as he smiled at her. "What?"

"Uncle Laguna said I could go to a kid's movie, 'cause I can't go with Raine and Uncle Laguna to see a porno movie," Ellone announced to the customers. She solemnly added, "It's for grown-ups."

There was a silence in the pub. The clatter and shatter of a dish dropped and broken could be heard from the kitchen. Raine's eyes were wide in shock and her hand paused in midmotion in reaching for a glass. The old men stared at the little girl, then at Raine, jaws agape.

Raine scrambled to regain her voice. "Ellone! Where did you hear that?"

"Uncle Laguna said it!"

Laguna's voice was panicked in the kitchen. "I did not!"

Leaning over the bar, Raine made her voice stern. "We are going to a grown-up movie, Ellone. And don't say porno ever again. That's a dirty word that Laguna gets in trouble for."

Ed slammed his mug down on the bartop. "Why is that good-for-nothing bum talking about that kind of filth in front of a little girl?"

Joe sent an icy scowl towards the kitchen door. "He ain't touchin' her, is he?"

Raine put herself between the door and Joe's glare. "No!"

Phil leaned on the bar. "He ain't touchin' you, is he?"

"No!" Raine defended, "He hasn't done anything to me or Elle."

"You gotta get rid of him," Joe reminded, "He's bad news to keep around. We don't trust him. A good woman like you shouldn't be compromising herself by keeping company with someone like him."

"I'm not compromising myself!" Raine snapped, "I can take care of myself. I can take care of Ellone. I can handle Laguna. I don't need three fathers trying to protect me."

Phil reached over the bar and patted her tense shoulder. "We know you're a strong girl, Raine. But we just don't want to see anything happen to you, if we can help it."

Crossing his arms, Ed fixed his stare on Raine. "If that dirty gypsy does anything to you or Elle, we'll get rid of him for you."

The pub's door opened and a couple entered the building. The old men warily watched the unfamiliar newcomers, while Raine waved them in. Their clothes were wet and mud splattered and the man carried a machete. "Welcome," she greeted, "What can I do for you?"

The blond-haired man returned the wave and put away his weapon, while his lady companion hung back. "Our car got stuck in a mudhole in the road outside of town," he said, "Can we use your phone to call a tow truck?"

"The phones in Winhill can't call out of town," Raine answered.

Joe drained the last of his mug and pushed himself away from the bar. "Ain't no tow trucks around here, anyways. But we do have a tractor that'll get you out."

Phil eyed the machete. "Have some trouble with the monsters?"

"You have no idea," was the man's dry reply.

After the three old men escorted the newcomers out of the pub, Raine poked her head into the kitchen. "It's all clear," she told Laguna, who was dumping the fragments of the broken dish into the garbage.

"M-maybe we shouldn't go to that movie together." He scanned the floor for any stray shards. "The town don't need to be gettin' th' wrong idea. I'm not gonna..." He shook his head emphatically. "I would _never_ hurt you or Elle."

"I know that." Raine crossed her arms and looked down to her side. "Don't mind what they say, Laguna. This town doesn't like anyone who's not related. The people look for ways to dislike outsiders. That's just how it is."

Laguna tilted his head. "Not related? Don't tell me that the family trees around here don't branch."

A sardonic grin slipped onto Raine's lips. "For some of the old-blood families, it gets close. I suppose you never had to deal with old-blood feuds or watched new blood fight to fit in." When he shook his head, she continued, "Everyone here is related to the old-blood in some way. There's a saying around here that goes "If you're not related, you will be, if you stay long enough." That's how it is in Winhill. If you don't have a family connection, you don't belong." Raine suddenly twisted around and barked, "Ellone! Stay inside!"

Laguna lowered his voice, "She's being a little monster today?"

Raine nodded. "I swear, she woke up as a little imp this morning. I'll tell you later about what else she did while you were out." Then she raced to the door to catch a disobedient Ellone before she ran too far outside.

Laguna almost laughed when Raine struggled to carry a kicking and screaming Ellone back into the pub. Slinging his towel onto the counter, he went around the bar to help the staggering woman. Once Ellone was transferred into his arms, he sat her on top of the bar and tousled her hair. "Hey, Elle," he smiled to her, "Wanna go upstairs and play?" He knew he was sentencing himself to certain and unmanly doom when he said this, but if it would give Raine enough peace and quiet to keep the pub open, then he would sacrifice himself to the cause. When Ellone's dark eyes brightened and a smile lit up her face, he knew he hit paydirt.

"Yeah! Let's go play!" She hopped off of the bar, forcing Laguna to catch her before she hit the floor. Grabbing his hand, she dragged him up the stairs. Before disappearing into the lair beyond, he gave Raine a quick salute. Now, Raine allowed herself to bring her fingers to her brow, as if fighting off a headache.

Ellone brought her hapless victim to the middle of the living area and pulled him down to the floor. Then she ran to her toy box and retrieved a pair of dolls and a box full of their clothes and accessories. After setting the toys down between Laguna and herself, she sat down and began to sort through them. Picking up one doll dressed in white and yellow with long brown hair, she held it up to the soldier. "This is Garnet. I play with her." Then Ellone picked up the second doll, one with black braids and a long black dress trimmed with fur and lace. "This is Lulu. You can play with her." She handed the doll to Laguna, who awkwardly accepted. "They're gonna go to a party," Ellone told him, "So, they have to change their clothes." She rummaged through the box and found some doll dresses. She put a white dress fit for a princess in front of her and found a pair of little white plastic shoes. "This is Garnet's dress, okay? Lulu doesn't like white." She found a slim black gown covered with dark lace and a pair of little black plastic shoes and set them in front of Laguna. "Here. You can put this on Lulu."

Laguna stared down at the dress and then at the doll in his hand. "Wow, they sure make dolls, um, realistic these days..." He watched as Ellone undressed her doll to put the white gown on it. He looked at the doll in his hand. _'Fine figure for a woman...' _His fingers kept pulling short of the dress that the doll wore as he tried to copy Ellone. _'Oh, man... How am I gonna do this? This don't feel right! Man, I'm so glad the guys aren't here. How am I supposed to play party with a little girl and her dolls? I don't even know how dolls party! I don't think Raine would like it if I started talking about how I know how to party. That's definitely not for little girls and that it would be kinda... wrong to play with dolls that way. Man, I'm glad the guys aren't here.'_ "Hey, Elle," he ventured, "How 'bout instead of a party, the dolls can go, um, on a mission? Yeah! A mission!" He shuffled through the box, but didn't see anything that resembled doll weapons. _'Of course not.'_ "They don't have to change their clothes, then." He glanced down at the Lulu doll. _'Not that I know of anyone who would or could march through the countryside in something like that dress, but let's not shoot myself in the foot.'_

Ellone wrinkled her nose. "A mission?"

"Yeah! Like I used to do!" Laguna grinned, "They can go hunt monsters and fight enemies and stuff!"

She thought about this for a moment, and then bobbed her head. "Okay! Can they use magic?"

"Sure!" He took one more look through the box, "I think they'll have to, anyways. I don't see any weapons in here."

When Raine entered the loft to check on Laguna and Ellone, she found them crouched behind the couch, holding dolls that were facing down a stuffed cat. Ellone had her Garnet doll dressed in yellow and white. "I'm summoning Shiva!"

"Alright! Lulu will cast Blizzaga!" He made the doll gesture for her "spell" and snickered. "Why don't ya chill for a while?"

By this time, Ellone grabbed the doll dressed in blue that was Garnet's "summon" and placed it between the mage dolls and the stuffed cat.

Raine snickered. "What are you two doing?"

It was Ellone who answered. "We're gonna fight the Sorceress an' save the world! But first we gotta fight the monsters in her castle."

"I see." Raine's lips twisted with amusement as she watched Laguna fidget. "Well, I guess I'll let you two finish saving the world." She crossed her arms. "I should get the camera for this."

Laguna vigorously shook his head, doll still in his hand. "Nononono... No need for that. We'll be done in just a bit. Say, is there anything in the kitchen that needs to be done?"

Raine shook her head, "I can handle it. You and Ellone have a Sorceress to defeat." With that, she retreated down the stairs with her hand over her mouth.

Laguna leaned towards Ellone. "I think she's laughing at me." Ellone just shrugged and started to play with "Shiva".

* * *

A/N: I borrowed a few traits from the place I grew up in for Winhill. Like the saying, "If you're not related, you will be, if you stay long enough." Gotta love small rural towns. 


	9. Loveless

Standard Disclaimer: FFVIII belongs to Square-Enix, yadda yadda yadda… You know the rest.

* * *

_One Good Shoulder – Chapter Nine_

A steady rain was falling on the village, pattering against the windows and drumming on the roofs. The pub was closed for the day, as this was the one day each week that selling alcohol was prohibited in the town. Not that Raine minded much. She was guaranteed a day of rest with a good excuse to give herself to take it. Curled up in her chair with a blanket and a book, she was enjoying a quiet afternoon.

Well, mostly quiet. Laguna was trying to watch the television, but the signals in Winhill were typically erratic and depended on conditions. Today, only two channels of six were more than static. Laguna had the grand choice between an infomercial for some tortuous-looking contraption meant for exercise and a documentary on the fall of the Dollet Empire. He chose the documentary, despite the infomercial having spandex-clad women stretching around. He could feel his back start to spasm just watching them contort on the machines.

Ellone clambered onto the couch next to Laguna and tugged on his dogtags. "Can I wear your necklace?"

Laguna eyed the little girl. "That's not a necklace."

"Yes, it is!" Ellone insisted.

"No, those are my dogtags." He held them up to her. "They have my name on them. See?"

Ellone wrinkled her nose. "Dogtags? Nuh-uh! You're not a dog, Uncle Laguna! An' dogtags go on dog collars! You're wearing a necklace!"

He tried to ignore Raine's snickers. "This isn't a necklace. It's a chain. With dogtags." Leaning closer to her, he added, "An' you can't wear 'em, 'cause I don't take 'em off."

"Even in bed?" Ellone's eyes were wide when he nodded. Turning to Raine, she blurted, "Uncle Laguna don't take off his necklace for bed! I don't have to, too!"

Raine's voice was even when she replied. "Yes, you do. Laguna wears dogtags, not a necklace." She cracked a smile when Laguna pumped his fist in victory. "They're to tell us who he is if he's found and he can't say anything. That's how we knew his name when he first came here, remember, Elle?"

Ellone wrapped her arms around one of Laguna's and nodded. "That was scary."

He reached over with his free hand and tousled her hair. "But I'm all better, now. Nothin' to be scared of anymore. Ain't that right?"

After an exasperated sigh, Raine tilted her head towards Laguna. "Please, try to use proper language when talking to Ellone. I don't need her picking up the "ain't" habit. It's bad enough that she listens to the old men, as it is."

Laguna rubbed at the back of his neck. "Sorry."

"Sometimes, I wonder if I should start making you do twenty pushups or whatever discipline was used on you in the army to get that point through your thick head."

Chuckling, Laguna crossed his arms behind his head. "That's some pretty mild discipline for the army."

Raine turned back to her book. "So, what's harsh?"

He shook his head. "I ain't gonna give you any ideas."

An eyebrow arched and Raine grinned at Laguna. "You said it again. That means you owe me twenty pushups."

Laguna's jaw dropped and his eyes widened. "No way! You can't be serious!"

From her curled up perch in the chair, Raine extended an arm and a finger. Pointing to the floor in front of her, she ordered, "Drop and give me twenty, Sergeant."

Rolling his eyes, he reluctantly obeyed. Getting down on the floor, he assumed the proper position and started on the first pushup. Clank the dogtags against the floor, push completely up, and keep the back straight. Keeping the back straight was surprisingly difficult. He couldn't remember it ever feeling this strained. Briefly, he wondered what it would feel like to try to do the pushups without the back brace that he wore these days.

After a few complete pushups, Ellone hopped off of the couch. "Chocobo ride!" she squealed before pouncing on him at the top of the next pushup. Laguna had no time to brace himself before she landed on him, heralding a searing flash of pain.

With a strangled yelp, he collapsed on the floor, clenching his teeth. "Getoffgetoffgetoff!" Ellone obliged, leaving him to roll onto his back and catch his breath. The fiery pain quickly subsided, leaving a dull ache behind.

Raine was kneeling beside him, leaning over him. "Are you all right?"

Laguna nodded and rolled over. Pushing himself to a kneel, he let himself rest with knees and palms flat on the floor. "I-I don't think my back is strong enough for roughhousin' yet." Would it ever completely heal? Or would it be like his leg and be a potential liability for the rest of his life?

Raine lowered her head to look at Laguna's face past the curtain of dark hair that fell over his eyes. "Are you all right?" she repeated.

He nodded again and stiffly came to his feet. "Yeah. I think I'll just take a raincheck on those pushups."

A knock at the door summoned Raine downstairs. Laguna heard the chatter of female voices, followed by stampeding footsteps up the stairs. A little girl with red pigtails burst into the loft, eliciting a shriek of excitement from Ellone. "Isa!" In an instant, the girls were diving towards the dolls. Soon after, Raine and another woman entered the loft.

The blonde woman nodded her head to Laguna, who smiled and waved at her. "Hey, Amelia."

Turning to Raine, Amelia took her aside. "Don't stay out too long," she warned, "Especially since you're taking him along. Heaven knows he's tempting, but you honestly can do better."

Laguna's smile fell and he crossed his arms. "Hey! What's that supposed to mean?"

"Nothing," Raine told him, "Go downstairs, I'll be down in a minute."

Shaking his head, Laguna complied. He really didn't want to pick a fight. Besides, it didn't seem to matter what he said in his defense. Why waste the energy? He wasn't going to stay much longer anyways, right?

It was not long before Raine came down the stairs, purse over her shoulder and keys in hand. "Let's go," she told him. "Through the back door." After passing through door at the back of the kitchen, Raine trotted out to the rickety detached garage behind the pub. The main door clattered as she opened it to get to the old pickup truck waiting beyond. She opened the unlocked door and climbed into the cab. Laguna joined her and she put the keys into the ignition. It took a few attempts, but the engine turned and started.

Raine leaned back on the bench seat and exhaled as the truck warmed up. "Finally."

Laguna grinned halfheartedly. "Gotta love your friend up there."

"Sorry about that," Raine replied, "She's been pushing me to settle with any of the local boys since we were twelve. Her attempts to play matchmaker have been... interesting. You always have to take what she says about relationships with a grain of salt."

Now Laguna's grin returned with amusement. "She try to set you up with a dweeb or something?"

"I only wish. They were usually jerks or assholes." When Laguna's eyes widened and smirk crossed his face, Raine added, "Pardon the language." She shook her head. "The back of a pickup truck is not a very romantic place. I've had to walk home from a few of those dates. After a while, I stopped accepting the offers." Raine put the truck into gear and started driving down the road that would lead out of Winhill. "It just wasn't worth it anymore." Raine sighed and flicked the windshield wipers on absently. "Most of the girls my age are already married, some with kids... I still can't understand why they settled with who they did. Why they decided that their purpose in life was to make babies with whatever stud they could find... I mean stud as in a breeding male, Laguna, not the other definition. That, most of those boys were not. Get that grin off your face!"

Chuckling, Laguna's grin broadened. "You said "stud"."

Raine punched him in the arm. "Oh, grow up!"

"Owww..." He rubbed at his offended arm.

Rolling her eyes, Raine shook her head. "You big weenie. I can't believe you sometimes. Weren't you in the army?"

"Yeah, but you didn't have to hit me! That's not ladylike!"

"Since when have you been concerned with someone acting ladylike?" Raine shot back, "With the way you've acted around Elle, I swear, Laguna, she'll be nothing but a tomboy!"

"Ain't nothin' wrong with that," he tried to defend. Then he straightened in his seat and held a warding finger out against Raine. "An' you can't make me do pushups in the truck!"

"At least you're catching yourself, now." Raine grinned, "That's a start."

After an hour's drive, they came to a mid-sized town along the road between Winhill and the pass through the mountains. Since this town was away from the train lines and separated from "civilization" by the mountains, it was an oft-ignored location, except by the locals for whom the trip to Timber or Deling was too far for any convenience.

The truck parked at a modest shopping center. "I want to get a few things before we catch a movie," Raine told Laguna. "Do you want to wait in here?"

"They're girly things, aren't they?"

"Mostly."

"Is it gonna take a while?"

"Probably."

"Aw, man..." Laguna opened the truck door and stepped out onto the wet parking lot. "I'll see if there's anything I need to get while you're shopping."

It was bizarre to Laguna to walk through those sliding doors and onto the waxed floor under fluorescent lights. It seemed so alien after all of this time away from cities. While Raine made such a trip monthly, this was the first time he joined her. _'Oh man... I'm goin' native,'_ Laguna mused, _'I don't need to get all freaked out over a store.'_

Raine had no hesitation about walking into the shop. "I need to look at some clothes. You probably should too." She pointed to one end of the store. "The men's section is over there. I'll be in women's if you need me." With that, she disappeared into the isles of racks, leaving Laguna to his own devices. Lost, he surveyed the store interior and started to wander in the direction that Raine had pointed.

Jeans and flannel shirts were the first things he found. _'Well, if I ever wanted to try to blend into Winhill...'_ he mused, _'But there's no need for that, 'cause I'm not sticking around for much longer.'_ He needed to find something that would be more suitable to Deling, or at least Timber. With those thoughts, he picked up a pair of brown pants in that section. The material was thick, stiff, and heavy, meaning that it would tolerate the abuses he would put it through on the road. A couple extra pairs of pants were picked up for good measure. Maybe he could have a full week's worth of pants, now. He didn't have a problem with wearing the same pair for a few days in a row, but he liked having a dry pair ready during a wet season like this. Everyone needed emergency pants. He bypassed the flannel shirts, finding himself not quite ready to voluntarily put those into his wardrobe. The shirts Raine found for him were fine; he wasn't going to snub them. But now he had the choice and he decided that he would find things that _he_ liked.

After both of them checked out of the store with basics, Raine decided to do a little window-shopping at some of the upscale and trendier shops. She would rarely find anything that she liked and had an affordable price tag, but she enjoyed the exercise. She paused in front of a boutique meant for teens and young adults. "Are they actually bringing _those_ back?" she asked Laguna.

He had no idea what she was talking about, but followed her inside, regardless. As Raine giggled over the nostalgia of whatever it was that she found, Laguna wandered to another section of the store. He saw some t-shirts that he liked, but the price tags on them made him wince. _'They're t-shirts! How hard can it be to put a funny saying on a t-shirt?'_ He meandered away and found himself at a rack full of jackets.

When Raine returned, she gaped at what Laguna was admiring. It was a short blue jacket with tan lining and a pair grooved metal disks on the front and back. "You can't be thinking of buying that, are you?" When he nodded, she shook her head. "That jacket is far too short for you and those metal... things on them are gaudy."

"It is not too short!" Laguna protested. He shrugged the jacket on and held out his arms. "See! The sleeves are the right length."

Raine facepalmed. "Take it off and put it back, Laguna."

"Hey, it's a cool jacket!" He slipped the jacket off and put it back on its hanger. "It's an awesome jacket! How could you not like it?"

"You're too old for it."

"What_ever_! I am so not too old for it. I'm, like, twenty-..." He paused, trying to calculate his age.

"-Eight. You're twenty-eight," reminded Raine, "That's two years short of thirty."

"Whatever. I'm still not too old for it."

"Put it away and let's go. There's still one more store that I want to look at."

Reluctantly, Laguna obeyed and followed after her. His boots squeaked to a stop when they came to the entrance of the shop, while Raine continued to walk inside. An entire store of women's underwear? That certainly was not a place for him! "Um, I-I'm gonna wait outside, okay?"

She paused and nodded. "I won't be long."

By the time she left the store, Laguna was nowhere in sight. Looking around, she tried to guess where he had gone. She did not have to look for long, because he strolled around a corner and came towards her. He was wearing that blue jacket with a broad smile. Not only that, but he was wearing the brown pants he just bought and had them tucked into his boots. Raine frowned. She was going to scold him about the jacket, but instead asked, "What is that black thing around your waist?"

"Oh, this? Pretty cool, huh? A little extra back support."

"At least it helps make the jacket not look so short." She sighed and touched her fingers to her head in her headache-fighting mannerism. She decided not to comment on the fingerless black gloves that he wore. "Nevermind. Let's go."

Once inside the truck, Raine had to turn the key a few times to get the engine to start again. Laguna propped his elbow on the door and watched as the truck shook to life again. "Is it always this hard to start?"

"More and more," she replied, "I should look into getting a new one. Maybe something with a bigger cab. Though, I really don't want to get rid of Dad's truck yet."

"Oh."

They arrived at the cinema just in time to catch a showing of "Loveless". Raine lifted the bench seat of the truck up and put the bags of clothes in the storage compartment beneath, out of sight, before they entered the theater. Halfway through the film, Raine heard a strange sawing sound from beside her. In the glow reflected from the screen, she saw that Laguna had fallen asleep in his seat. Elbowing him, she tried to wake him up before his snoring became any louder. With a snort, he startled awake with a loud "Sir, no, sir!" Looking around in confusion, it took a moment for him to realize where he was. Next to him, Raine was trying to disappear into her seat, as a few chuckles bubbled out of the audience.

On the way out of the theater, she leveled a glare at Laguna. "I can't believe you fell asleep in the middle of the movie."

"It was a boring movie!" Laguna retorted, "I couldn't help it!" He spread his hands out. "I'm sorry for doin' it, though. I didn't mean to spoil the movie for you."

"You didn't spoil the movie," she assured him. "You just added to the sound effects. Maybe you can pick the movie next time. Then you can stay awake through it."

"Really? Cool!"

The sun was setting as they climbed back into the truck, painting the clouds in brilliant shades of pink, orange, and purple during a break in the rain. Laguna leaned back on the bench seat. "You think that Elle behaved herself for your friend?"

"I hope so."

Halfway through the trip back to Winhill, a burning odor permeated the cab and the truck began to jerk and shake. Laguna glanced into the side mirror while Raine pulled over. "Oh, shit... We got smoke back there."

Raine cut the engine and popped the hood open. Laguna hopped out of the truck and onto the grass. Lifting the hood, he winced away from the blast of heat from the engine. "We're gonna have to wait for the engine to cool down before I can try to do anything. There's no way I'm gonna try to check on the radiator when it's this hot."

Peering into the engine compartment, Raine blew a harsh breath between her teeth. The light that was supposed to illuminate the engine when the hood was opened wasn't working. The shadows under the hood were making it hard to see details. "It's going to get dark soon."

"Yeah." Laguna strode back to the cab. "You got a flashlight in here?" Raine came to the cab from the driver's side and lifted the bench seat. Rummaging around, she found an old flashlight and handed it to him. Laguna flicked the switch on it, but nothing happened. He shook the flashlight and still nothing. "It's a dud." He searched through the storage compartment, trying to find something that would help them. "Not much in here. This isn't cool." He rolled up his jacket sleeves and went back to the engine. "There was white smoke comin' out the back, which usually means that there's water getting into places it shouldn't. Probably because of a bad hose or head gasket. Either way, there's no tryin' to drive this truck, unless you wanna ruin the engine."

Crossing her arms, Raine scowled at the old truck. "So, now what?"

Looking up at the darkening sky, Laguna grimaced. "We can't stay out here for much longer. You see any houses around?"

Raine shook her head. "No. There aren't many houses outside of villages around here because of the monsters." Her stance stiffened. "Monsters."

Laguna nodded.

She scanned the landscape around them. "There's worse out here than the Caterchipillars and Bitebugs that get into town."

Laguna nodded again. "And I don't have my gun with me." He straightened his posture and ventured to the edge of the road when he spotted a set of oncoming headlights in the distance. Stretching out his arm, he stuck out his thumb.

"Laguna! What are you doing?" Raine tried to pull down his arm.

"I'm gonna get us outta here, so we can get some help," he answered while resisting her pull. "Unless you really wanna stay out here or try walkin' back unarmed."

Raine tensed and marched back to the truck. After closing the hood and retrieving the bags and purse from the truck seat, she joined Laguna at the side of the road. "I can't believe we're actually going to try to hitchhike." This went against every last shred of her common sense. She had heard enough horror stories about what happened to people who hitchhiked or picked up hitchhikers. She had no intention of becoming one of those stories.

"Hey, don't worry about it," Laguna smiled. "I used to do this a lot when I was younger. Met all sorts of interesting people that way. Some of them were scary, but interesting."

Bringing her fingers to her forehead, Raine swore she could feel a migraine coming on. This was going to be a long evening.

* * *

A/N: I want to give a shout out to DBZ Fanfiction Queen for plugging this fic in "The Past is Back" and give my thanks for the support. Go check out the Queen's stuff and tell 'em Randomality sent ya.  



	10. Defending Honor

Standard Disclaimer: FFVIII belongs to Square-Enix, yadda yadda yadda… You know the rest.

A/N: Naughty language warning

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_One Good Shoulder – Chapter Ten_

Laguna allowed himself a frown alongside the road. No one was stopping for them. "So," he ventured to Raine, "Like, whatever happened to country hospitality?"

"Last call is at sundown and then it goes to bed," she quipped while scanning the evening darkness for any signs of a monster ambush. "Besides, no one wants to risk stopping at night because of the monsters."

"I really really _really_ want my gun now." That was no understatement. He was feeling naked without it. Shifting his feet at the roadside, he fought the urge to start pacing. "Or some magic. But the faeries aren't here now, so I'm just outta luck there." He could almost hear the roll of Raine's eyes at the mention of infamous faeries.

The shine of headlights in the distance signaled the approach of another potential ride. Laguna prepared to flag it down. "Man, this would be easier if that flashlight worked." The oncoming headlights became a freight truck that slowed and came to stop. Laguna jumped into the air and waved enthusiastically to the driver. "Hey!"

The driver rolled down the cab window and leaned out. "You broke down?"

Raine was tempted to reply, "No, we're just enjoying a nighttime stroll through monster-infested fields," but decided to keep her mouth shut.

"Yeah!" Laguna answered, "Can you give us a lift to someplace we can get a tow?"

"Sure thing! Hop in! Your girl coming too?"

Laguna glanced to Raine. "U-Uh... Yeah! I can't leave her out here." He climbed into the passenger side of the cab and helped pull Raine in. Once the door was closed, the truck rumbled forward.

The truck driver smiled to Laguna. "Almost didn't see you, 'cept for those reflectors on your jacket. Name's Darryl."

Laguna seemed to not notice the driver's offered hand in the darkened cab. "I'm Laguna. Thanks for stoppin'. I was startin' to get worried out there."

"No problem." The trucker nodded his head towards Raine. "Who's the pretty lady?"

"Raine," she replied. "Thank you for stopping."

Laguna straightened in his seat between Darryl and Raine. "Hey, what are ya haulin'?"

"Landscapin' plants to Timber. Gotta get 'em there as soon as I can. Can't let 'em wilt any or th' boss'll have my hide."

Raine leaned against the door and stared out the window while Laguna chatted up a storm of nothing with the driver. She hoped that Ellone and Amelia would not get too worried about her coming home late. When would she get home? They probably would not be able to get the truck home until morning. She could almost hear the squawking at home and the inevitable slur against Laguna. _'He's trouble, they said. They're going to shove that down my throat again.' _Raine frowned._ 'Even if I didn't take him with me, the truck would have broken down. Then I would be stranded alone in the middle of nowhere and I wouldn't dare try hitchhiking. Walking to help would be out of the question. There's no way I can take on monsters unarmed and alone in the dark. Not even Laguna will try it and I swear he has a loose screw up there somewhere sometimes.'_ Her brows furrowed while her eyes unfocused. _'What am I going to do after everyone leaves? What will happen if something goes wrong that I can't fix and there's no one around?'_

Drifting in her thoughts, she lost track of time. The night sky grew darker and the light of the huge moon fell upon the landscape, carving silhouettes out of shadows. A cluster of yellow lights ahead on the road marked their stop. Laguna ushered her out of the truck and waved goodbye to Darryl.

This stop was fully equipped, by the looks of it. A fuel station, a tavern, a run-down motel, and an auto shop huddled close to each other. It was almost a village in its own rights. The auto shop was closed, judging by the darkened windows. The tavern, however, was quite open. Neon beer lights glowed in the windows and the scent of greasy food drifted over gravel and patched pavement.

Laguna pointed to that tavern. "Alright! Let's go!" His boots crunched across the damp gravel parking lot.

"I hope there's a bathroom in there," Raine remarked as she followed after him.

Upon entering the tavern, Raine stepped closer to Laguna. This place was _not_ like her pub in Winhill. Past the old jukebox and pool tables, there were a few abused tables and chairs. A large, long mirror reflected the scene from behind the occupied bar. The smoky air was thick with the scent of beer, grease, and sweat. She cringed when her shoes tried to stick to the floor with each step. For such a seedy place, there was a healthy patronage, though none of the customers looked like people she wanted to associate with.

After a cursory glance at the scene, Laguna strode towards the bar, letting Raine follow in his wake. She avoided eye contact with any of the patrons; instead she focused on the disks on the back of Laguna's jacket. _'Those can't be comfortable to lean against. Why does he like that jacket so much? Don't look at the tattoos. Look at Laguna. It must be the shininess that he's attracted to. Is that a stud in her lip? A ring in his eyebrow? I'll never complain about Laguna's stupid little earring ever again. What kind of place is this to have this kind of clientele?'_

Laguna came to a stop at the bar and waved at the tender. "Hey, do you have a working phone here? Our truck broke down."

The bartender, a middle-aged man with graying hair tied back in a thinning ponytail, eyed the visitors. "Nope. No phone. The auto shop next door can help you tomorrow morning. If you need a place to stay overnight, check into the motel."

Raine felt her stomach clench at those words. She did not want to stay in a place like this overnight. She wanted to be home at the pub with Ellone.

"Oh, man." Laguna crossed his arms and dark brows knitted together. "Elle's not gonna be happy about this." He turned to Raine, "I guess we'll have to make the best of it. You want a drink or somethin'?"

Raine wanted to tell him that she thought that this place was filthy and that she didn't want to come down with dysentery or worse, but saying such a thing in front of the tender did not strike her as intelligent. "I'm fine."

"You sure?"

"I'm sure. I'll need to find a bathroom soon, but I can hold it a little longer."

The bartender pointed to a doorway in the back wall. "Lavatory's right in there. Your boyfriend can order while you're busy."

"He's not my boyfriend," Raine immediately replied and then immediately regretted. She did not want to give any of the men in the tavern the idea that she was available. As much as she did not want to let Laguna out of her sight, she decided to take a risk on the tavern bathroom.

While Raine was away, Laguna scanned the labels on the bottles and bartaps. "So, how far is it to the nearest town from here?"

"About ten minutes by car, tops," the bartender replied, "Are you going to order a drink?"

Laguna stared at the labels blankly, trying to decide. "Ummm..."

A scantly clad woman with a pierced lip and bleached blonde hair sidled up to Laguna and ran a hand through his hair. When he jumped and twisted around to face her, she smiled at him. "So tense. Relax. If you wanna get a drink, you can get one with me."

Involuntarily, his eyes darted down to forbidden hills before he willed them to look at her face. A twinge of pain in his bad leg threatened to further scatter his already flighty thoughts and he took a deep breath. Putting a smile on his face, he waved a decline. "Ah, n-no thanks. I'm good."

"You sure about that..." She reached out and pulled his dogtags closer so she could read them. "Laguna?"

"Y-yeah, I'm s-sure." He watched as her eyes became focused on something behind him. Turning his head over his left shoulder, he spotted a big bruiser of a man approaching him from the pool tables with purpose. The woman's hand turned Laguna's chin so that he was looking at her. In the next instant, her arms were around his neck and her lips were on his. Stiffening with a muffled protest, he pushed her away and clutched at his right thigh.

She leaned down towards his face. "What's wrong?"

Through clenched teeth, Laguna managed to reply, "My leg's... cramping up!"

Her lips twisted into an amused grin. "I'm sure it is."

"That's not what I meant!"

The bruiser tapped Laguna on the shoulder and growled, "Hey, what were you doin' to my woman?"

Before Laguna could answer, the blonde woman did. "I'm not your woman, Tor! I can be with anyone I want to and I don't need your permission for it! How many times have I told you that? So, just butt out! Me and Laguna were getting to know each other. Right, Laguna?"

Laguna was vigorously trying to massage out the cramp. "Um, actually..."

Tor scowled and wrinkled his crooked nose. "You fuckin' slut! What about all those things I bought ya? Huh? I treat you nice an' you just run off? Well, guess what, bitch! It goes both ways! I can have any woman I want an' I don't need to waste my time with ya!"

On returning from the bathroom, Raine approached Laguna, who was obviously in some pain. Before he could warn her about staying away from this lover's quarrel, Tor seized Raine and held her close to him. "See, Gwen? If you can grab any fuck off the floor, so can I!" He squeezed Raine's breast, eliciting a surprised and offended yelp from her.

In retrospect, Laguna swore that he heard something in his head physically snap in that instant. Ignoring the fiery burst in his leg, he leveraged his weight against the floor and slammed his fist into Tor's nose. Snatching Raine, he pulled her away from the bloodied man and staggered lamely towards the door with her in escape. If he started this fight, there was going to be no way he could talk his way out of it. At least, not with a crowd like the one in the tavern.

Tor and his posse had other ideas. Tor wiped blood away from his freshly rebroken nose and grimaced at the red streak it left. "I'm gonna rearrange your fuckin' face, prettyboy." Laguna was grabbed and separated from Raine from behind by one of Tor's friends. All Laguna could see of that friend was a pair of forearms rising up from underneath his own arms and pinning him against a solid chest. Doubling up his fist, Tor swung at Laguna, who turned his head to roll with the punch. Slamming his elbows back, Laguna jabbed his captor in the ribs. Once the grip was loosened, he reached back and grabbed a fistful of short hair. Yanking the former captor forward, Laguna put him into a headlock and pounded his face a couple of times before Tor sent his fist into Laguna's head to return the favor for his friend.

Laguna let go of the man's head and limped backwards, searching frantically for something to help equalize the situation. Without the full use of his right leg to help leverage his weight, Laguna's punches were lacking the force he needed. Without the full use of his right leg, he couldn't execute his military-learned throws or any other maneuvers that could help him overcome the measurable size difference between him and Tor. That left a few grapples in the unarmed arena and that didn't seem like a good idea when it was one versus many. Could he find a weapon? Striding forward, Tor grabbed onto Laguna's shoulder and drove a fist into the smaller man's gut. Doubling over, Laguna dropped to his knees. Sucking in a breath, he braced himself for the rest of the beating.

A surprised grunt from Tor brought Laguna's vision away from the floor. The bruiser was doubled over and glaring at a little woman with long brown hair who was wielding a pool cue like a staff. Raine lunged at Tor's friend before he could lay a hand on her and jabbed the narrow end of the cue between his ribs. In an instant, she brought the wooden pole down on his head and then rapped it against his temple. Her next swing had no pause and she scored on Tor's head. She lunged at another one of Tor's friends who decided to join the brawl and nailed him in the gut. The unmistakable _ka-click_ of a switchblade caught her attention and she spotted the gleaming metal blade in Tor's hand. Turning to face him, Raine readied herself to strike a finishing blow before he struck her.

The sound of a shotgun cocking brought everything to a halt. The bartender had the barrel aimed at Tor. "That's enough. I want you two," he jerked his chin at Laguna and Raine, "Outta here. Tor, if you or your buddies follow after them to give 'em grief, I'm gonna give you a hot lead enema. Got it? Put your peeler away. I don't wanna see it here any more."

Raine dropped her pool cue and picked up her bags before clutching Laguna's hand and dragging his hobbling form to the door. Once outside, Laguna took the lead, guiding Raine towards the motel.

As they approached the main office, Laguna looked down at her under the yellow light of a lonely street lamp. Half of his face was obscured by the shadow of his hair, but that did not matter so much, since a swelling eye already took that half of his vision. "That was awesome! Where did you learn that?"

"Learn what?"

"That thing with the stick back there! You were so gonna take him on!"

Raine shrugged. "Winhill's a dangerous place to walk through by yourself. Do you think I go to the other end of town without a good walking stick to help me against the monsters?"

Laguna tried to smile, but a twinge of pain caught him. After touching his lip, he looked at his fingers and the smear of blood left on them. "Hm. Maybe you should go get us a room or something for the night, Raine. I'm gonna get a cold soda from that vending machine over there."

Raine looked at the tired old motel and sighed before nodding. "You're thirsty?"

"Nope. It's for my face." As he limped away on the gravel lot, he added, "An' don't let 'em charge you more than sixty gil for a couple of beds. You're gettin' ripped off if it costs anything more."

When Raine finally left the main office, she found Laguna waiting for her with an armful of snacks and drinks. "You got us rooms?"

"_A_ room," she grumbled, "Double bed. There's no other arrangement in this place and it's sixty gil just for that."

"Oh man..." He looked at the line of doors leading to the rooms. "Well, I guess it's better than sleeping outside."

Raine bit back a sarcastic remark. That kind of attitude was not going to help her here. "We're in room eight."

"Cool." He followed her to the assigned room and let her key open the door. Once they were inside, the door closed and locked for the night. A light flicked on and cast its warm glow on the faded and worn curtains.

* * *

A/N: Apologies for the delay in getting this chapter out to you. Life happens. It doesn't help that this mini-arc is turning out to be longer than I expected. I had to break this chapter into two (for the second time in a row), just to keep from having a huge chapter. Stay tuned for its conclusion. 


	11. Long Day's Night

Standard Disclaimer: FFVIII belongs to Square-Enix, yadda yadda yadda… You know the rest.

* * *

_One Good Shoulder – Chapter Eleven_

Raine was not impressed. Laguna wrinkled his nose. The room smelled of must and stale cigarette smoke, among other odors that neither occupant wanted to identify. Next to the door, a stained and abused sofa and a battered coffee table stood in forlorn sentry. Centered along the side wall was a single double bed flanked by a pair of nightstands with small lamps. Across from the foot of the bed, a television sat on a dresser. On the opposite wall from the entry door was the doorway to the bathroom.

After locking the door, Raine deposited her bags on the battered table, ignoring the multitudes of cup pale rings worn into the surface. Laguna dumped his vending machine goods onto the same table, scattering them. Flopping onto the sofa and sprawling out, Laguna reached for the cold soda can and gingerly held it to his eye.

"If you want some of the munchies, help yourself," he told Raine.

She looked at the various packages and crossed her arms. Jerky, nacho-cheese powdered corn chips, peanuts, trail mixes, and a couple of chocolate bars littered the tabletop. A couple of soda cans dripped condensation onto the nearly-stripped wooden surface. She picked up a bag of the trail mix and a soda. "Vending machine dinner?"

The corner of Laguna's mouth quirked up. "Yeah. I tried to get things that you might like. I don't think you like pork rinds, right? I never see those in your pub." He sat up in the seat. "I didn't get anything out of the machine with the sandwiches. I didn't trust 'em. Didn't think you wanted beer, either. Especially since there's only the cheap stuff in the machines. Man, this place is stocked with vending machines. There's also magazines and videos in one of 'em."

Raine looked up from the trail mix bag. "Oh? What kind of magazines?"

Laguna's good eye darted and he shifted in the seat. "Um, not any that you would like."

"Probably." Raine decided that she didn't want to ask further on that subject. She looked over her shoulder at the bathroom doorway. "Hopefully, it's not as disgusting in here as it was in that bar."

"Hm?"

"That bathroom in the bar. There's no way I was going to actually use it."

Leaning back into the seat, Laguna tilted his head back and stared at the dingy ceiling. "That bad, huh?"

When Raine returned from the bathroom, Laguna had the can against his split lip. "I'll take the floor tonight; you can have the bed," he told her.

"With your back!" Raine shook her head. "And after the beating you took in there?"

"But aren't hard surfaces good for bad backs?" When Raine leveled a stern glare at him, he compromised. "I'll take this couch-thing, then."

She shook her head again. "I wouldn't let a dog sleep on that."

"It's not that bad. I've slept on worse."

"I don't doubt it." She rubbed at her brow. "What possessed you to start a fight in there?"

"I didn't start it! He started it when he groped you!"

"But who threw the first punch?"

"Hey, does that TV work?" Laguna transferred from the sofa to the bed, grabbing the television remote along the way. A rumble from his stomach announced his hunger.

Raine frowned, "You haven't eaten yet?"

"Don't wanna put salt on my lip yet," he replied, "That wouldn't be cool." He found the power button on the remote and pushed it. The screen flickered to life and music heavy with bass thrummed from the speaker. Laguna squinted at the static-flecked image. "...Th' heck is this?" The rest of the sound effects put the last piece in place for him. Good eye widening, he frantically fumbled with the remote before finding the power button again.

When the screen was black, Raine raised an eyebrow. "Was that...?"

"Porn. Yep." Rubbing at his leg, he studied the television. That was the last thing he wanted to be thinking about if he was going to be sharing a room with Raine. "But, don't you have to _pay_ to get that in a room? Unless it's pirated or the time from the last occupants isn't expired yet." His hand paused. "Um, you might wanna sleep on top of the covers in here."

"I was already intending to do that."

Laguna got up to get a better look at the bed. That was when he noticed the little coin box next to it. Could it be...? He looked closer at the box and read the instructions. "Alright! It's a vibrating bed!" He reached into his pocket for a gil.

"Laguna! No!"

"But, magic fingers!"

"No! I mean it!"

"But..."

"No!" Raine pointed at the bed. "Sit down and leave it alone! I don't want to be in the same room as a bed that's _moving_!" What kind of motel room was this? She knew, but she did not want to admit that she was going to stay in one, especially with Laguna. _'The world is pulling me in two different directions about him. I don't like that.'_

"Aw, you're no fun." He stretched out on the bed and groaned. "Man, this feels good even without the massage. My feet aren't hanging off the end."

"You're not going to sleep with your boots on, are you?"

"Yep. Need to be ready to move if I have to. Never know when that thug out there is gonna find us to finish the fight. Hopefully, my leg will work enough that I can actually do something if he does."

Raine moved towards the window and peeked out through the curtains. She could see the tavern across the gravel lot. She hoped that they wouldn't track her and Laguna down. If there was going to be any fighting, she would rather have it in the tavern, where there were things that could serve as weapons. There wasn't much in the motel room for her to use for that purpose.

Laguna's voice interrupted her thoughts. "Where are you gonna sleep?"

"I'll take the sofa. I'll fit better on it than you, anyways."

"Nuh-uh. If you won't let a dog sleep on it, then you can't sleep on it either."

A sigh blew past Raine's lips and she stepped away from the window. There was no way she was going to trust the floor after spotting a cockroach crawling around in the bathroom. "I guess it will be okay if we share this bed. We'll each have our own side and we'll be on top of the covers."

"I'm not gonna do anythin'," Laguna added while trying to stifle a yawn. "An' you don't have to tell the folks in Winhill the sleepin' arrangements. I don't want th' old farts comin' after me with pitchforks, even though nothin' happened."

Raine lowered herself onto her side of the bed. "I can see them doing something like that to you." Once she was settled, she added, "I know they don't like outsiders, but they really don't like you. I wish I knew why."

"Same here." Laguna rolled onto his side, leaving his back to face Raine. "Well, they won't have to worry about me hangin' around you much longer. Then they can find something else to talk about."

"Ellone's going to miss you when you leave," Raine remarked.

"Yeah, but I'll write to her and you. Maybe even come and visit. Like on her birthday or something."

"She would like that."

"She'll still be with you, too. We'll find a way to make that happen." Laguna's voice was starting to fade as he began to doze.

Raine's hands gripped the blanket she lay atop of. "I wish I was home."

"Same here."

"Laguna?"

"Hm?"

"Thank you for defending my honor in the tavern. This sounds a little sad, but that's the most valiant thing anyone has ever done for me."

"No problem," he answered with a crooked grin, "Glad to be of service."

She turned her head towards him. "You didn't even think before you hit him, did you?"

"Nope."

The corners of Raine's lips twitched upwards. That simple answer had no hesitation to it either. "You reacted before I did."

There was a long pause as Laguna tried to figure out the significance of her making such a remark. "Yeah?"

"How's your eye?"

Laguna waved away her concern. "Ah, it'll be fine. It won't look pretty for a while, if it's swollen shut like this already, but this isn't the first time I've been pounded. I shoulda known that he would get his buddies to help him. Many against one aren't my favorite odds, but they seem pretty common, especially if I'm the one. I'm lucky I haven't had my nose busted or teeth knocked out yet. It's come close, though. Way uncool." He prodded his lip with his tongue before continuing. "When he pulled that knife on you, I wasn't sure what I was gonna do. It would have been my fault if anythin' happened to you. I... I don't think I could live with myself if you got hurt 'cause I started somethin'. Tryin' to explain somethin' like that to Elle would be harder than havin' to be the one to tell someone that her husband ain't comin' home."

Raine's brow furrowed. "You've had to do that?"

"Well, I didn't _have_ to, but he was my friend and..." He took a deep breath. "There was something he wanted me to tell her and I promised that I would. It's bad enough that I've had friends die on me before I could make good on promises; I don't wanna have to break a promise 'cause _I_ was the one who bit the dirt."

_'Bit the dust,'_ mentally corrected Raine. "Have you lost many friends?"

He shrugged. "You make friends, you lose friends, you make new friends. That's the way things go, right? Our paths would have split one way or another. It's not cool and sometimes it hurts, but you remember the good times and keep going."

"Will you remember good times of staying in Winhill?"

The bed jostled as Laguna propped himself up on his elbows. "Of course! Being with you an' Elle is the closest thing I've had to home. I would never forget that."

Raine felt her jaw slacken. _'Home? Even though it's a small, plain place? Even though the townsfolk don't like you? Even though you have next to nothing there? You would consider that home?'_

Laguna lowered himself onto the bed again and yawned. "I bet Elle is driving that friend of yours up a wall. How much do you wanna bet she's still up, waiting for us?"

"I'm not taking that bet."

A while later, Raine listened to the low drone of Laguna's snore. Sitting up and getting out of bed, she retrieved her soda can and took a seat on the sofa. Every now and then, she would peek beyond the curtains to the tavern.

Laguna found himself wearing his dress uniform and sitting in the troop transport. The air was too warm and humid and he tugged at his tie, fighting the urge to undo it. All around him, voices were buzzing, talking about going home. Leaning back in his seat, he pulled his hat down over his eyes. At least that was a well-understood signal to leave a man alone. As he tried to sleep, he thought about where he could go until his next tour. All of his friends were either dead, still in service, or moved without leaving a forwarding address. Hotels were expensive in the long run and the thought of staying in the barracks was depressing.

The transport lurched to a stop and Laguna righted his hat before grabbing his bag from the overhead bin. Soldiers filed out of the vehicle and towards the gathered crowd. Families and friends, mothers with children in their arms, all eagerly waited for the return of their loved ones. The noise of greetings, cheers, and laughter filled the air. Adjusting the bag over his shoulder, Laguna wove through the crowd, trying not to get between reunions. With the crowd behind him, he stared at the city streets, trying to decide which way to go.

A woman's voice cut through the noise behind him. "Laguna!"

Turning, he saw Ellone running towards him from Raine. The little girl jumped into his arms with a bright smile. Pulling off his hat, Ellone plopped it on her own head. Raine approached him and held out her hand. "Come on, Laguna. Let's go home."

He slowly reached out and clasped her small hand in his. A smile lit his face and he nodded. "Yeah, let's go home." Raine began to pull away from him, but his grip held firm. "Raine, wait." She stopped and he pulled her closer to him. Wrapping his arm around her, he leaned down to her shoulder and breathed into her ear. "Thank you."

Raine's eyes widened in the darkness of the motel room and she stared down at the arm draped over her. Laguna was talking in his sleep. He gave a sigh of contentment and relaxed. Raine remained frozen on the bed. Was he dreaming about talking to her? What else did he want to say? Did she want to know? It felt so bizarre to have his arm on her that she wanted to bolt and go back to watching the tavern, even though it was closed. _'I can't afford to get attached to him now, no matter what the romance novels say about a situation like this.'_ Carefully, she lifted the arm and pushed it away. His hand flexed and he rolled over to return to his side of the bed. "Don' go far, Elle," he murmured.

Light was shining in his face and something was prodding his shoulder. Peeling one eye open, Laguna peered at Raine. She prodded him again. "Wake up, it's morning." Sitting up, he surveyed the motel room. Raine pointed to the battered table. "There's still some snacks for breakfast." Laguna nodded and stiffly got off of the bed. Staggering, he steadied himself by bracing a hand against the wall. Raine stepped closer to him. "How are you feeling?"

He grunted and cleared his throat. "My back's sore. My leg's sore. Man, I knew I was gonna pay for throwing that punch when it was cramped up like that." He hobbled to the bathroom and leaned close to the mirror. His lip was looking better, but the skin under his right eye was purple-black. "Got one helluva shiner here."

"You have looked better, but you have looked worse," commented Raine. Laguna only grunted in reply. She added, "We need to hurry and take care of the truck."

Ellone was plastered to the loft window that overlooked the town square. Not even Isa's pleas to play were pulling her away. However, the rumble of a truck engine trundling towards the back of the pub catapulted the little girl to the stairway. Amelia raced to keep up with her as she dashed for the back door. Outside, a tow truck shut off its engine and its passengers climbed out of the cab. Ellone wrapped herself around Raine's leg. "Raine!"

Amelia huffed to catch her breath. "Raine! What happened?"

"The truck broke down on the way home last night. Laguna and I had to stay at a motel until we could find a tow," Raine explained as she hefted Ellone into her arms.

Then Amelia saw Laguna's limping form and her jaw slackened. "What is he _wearing_?" Then she peered closer and her brows rose. "What happened to him?"

Raine grinned, "He defended my honor."

"Against what? A wendigo?"

"Close." Glancing over shoulder, Raine watched Laguna talk to the tow driver and help him unhitch the truck. "I'm really sorry about this, Amelia. I never thought that this would happen."

"It's all right. I know that you didn't want to get stuck out there. Ellone was really worried about you. She barely slept at all." Then eyes shifted back to Laguna. "Speaking of sleeping, you didn't..."

Raine's expression flattened and she began to walk back to the pub. "No. I didn't. Nothing happened." She blew a harsh sigh and shook her head. "I swear, Amelia, if you're so enamored with the thought, why don't _you_ try it?"

"I'm already married," she replied, "I would _never_ cheat on my husband." When Raine raised a brow, she added, "But the thought has crossed my mind."

"Obviously." Opening the pub door, she took a deep breath. "I'm so glad to be home."


	12. A Matter of Duty

Standard Disclaimer: FFVIII belongs to Square-Enix, yadda yadda yadda… You know the rest.

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_One Good Shoulder – Chapter Twelve_

The morning light streamed through the window and birds chittered and chirped outside. Raine stretched under the covers and rolled onto her side. She took a deep breath and slowly let it go, enjoying the warmth of the bed and the lack of any need for hurry. Today was the day of the week that the pub was closed and there was nothing pressing to do. The kitchen was in order, Laguna was likely sleeping in, and Ellone... Raine gave a short sigh and pulled the covers off. She needed to check on Ellone. She wasn't expecting trouble, but one could never be sure. She did not find the little girl in her bed or in the rest of the loft, which did not worry her too much. But she had to see that Ellone was not making a mess downstairs.

When she opened the door to go to the ground floor, her nose caught the unmistakable scent of burning grease. Flying down the stairs and skidding around the bar, she braced herself in the kitchen doorjamb. Blue eyes widened and her jaw dropped.

Laguna hastily tossed a newly found lid on top of the flaming cast iron skillet and fanned away the smoke with a towel. At the kitchen table, Ellone was generously spattered with pancake batter as she stirred the pale mixture in a bowl. Eggshells and flour littered the table and there was flour dusting Laguna's hair and clothes. Smears of egg whites streaked the counter. A plate of cooked bacon sat nearby those same smears.

Ellone beamed at Raine, "We're makin' breakfast!"

Laguna jumped around, startled. "Raine! What're you doin' up already?"

"Making sure that my pub isn't going to burn down!" Raine gnarled the fingers of one hand in her disheveled hair. "Why are you doing this?" Her free hand gestured broadly to the disaster zone that was her kitchen.

"I couldn't sleep anymore and I was hungry. Elle let me in, but you were still asleep. I didn't wanna wake you, so I decided to make breakfast for us myself today. You know, return the favor?"

"But you can't cook!"

Laguna waved the statement away. "Aw, c'mon. How hard can it be to mix stuff up and heat it until it's done?" He picked up the plate of extra-crispy bacon. "See! I got this cooked!" Pointing to his bare forearm, he added, "It put up a fight, though. Spat grease at me."

Ellone's voice chirped, "I'm makin' pancakes! We read the box! Uncle Laguna helped me with the hard words."

With a grin, Laguna tousled her hair. "Yep! Elle read a lot of the words herself! Some of them were a little tricky, but we got through 'em."

Raine's hand fell from her hair and she tilted her head. "Ellone's reading?"

"She's starting," Laguna confirmed, "It won't be long before I don't have to help her anymore. Ain't that right, Elle?"

"Right!" Ellone hopped up on the chair she was sitting on. "I'm gonna be a good reader!"

Laguna pushed down on Ellone's head to get her to sit. "Yep! An' then you can read stories to me!"

Dark eyes looked up at him. "But I still want you to read to me, Uncle Laguna."

Leaning on the back of the chair, Laguna hovered over the little girl. "I will! But we can take turns. Maybe you can read to Raine, too. I bet she would like a bedtime story."

Raine's expression softened and she smiled. "I would like that. Would you read to me, Ellone?"

"Yep!" Ellone hopped to standing on the chair again. "I can read to you tonight, Raine!"

Laguna pushed down on Ellone's head again after nearly getting a chinful of dark brown hair. "She likes the story about the flower girl," he told her, "I don't know where that one is, though. I don't think we got to that one yet."

"Before we think of looking for it," Raine began, "We need to take care of breakfast. Let's see what we can salvage. Then Laguna can clean up the mess he made."

Later that morning, Laguna whistled a cheery tune over the sink, his hands submerged in the soapy water. The heavy cast iron skillet needed plenty of work to clean after the grease fire. It would need to be reseasoned after he was done with it, according to Raine. That was not a difficult thing to do. It was almost like polishing his gun. Put oil on soft cloth and rub onto black metal to protect it from rust.

Bits of charcoal floated on in the murky water while Laguna pulled the skillet out to rinse it. Raine poked her head into the kitchen, her expression tense. "Have you seen Ellone?"

He shook his head. "Nope, she hasn't come back in here." Looking up from the sink, he added, "She's not upstairs?"

Now, it was Raine's turn to shake her head. "I looked everywhere. She's not in the pub, either." She slid her pale headband over her hair, pulling the brown tresses away from her face. Brows knitting, she glanced over her shoulder into the pub. "I'm going to go outside and look for her." Crossing the kitchen, she grabbed the stout walking stick that was propped against the wall next to the door. It once was a shovel handle, but it had broken long ago, giving it a pointed end.

"If she's not out in the square, try looking in the house next door," Laguna called out to her as as she left the kitchen. The sound of the door latching signaled Raine's departure.

Laguna dunked the heavy pan under water again to give it another scrub for good measure. Just as he began to rinse it again, he heard Raine's voice frantically scream his name. Vaulting over the bar with dripping skillet in hand, he bolted out of the pub. Following the sound of Raine's voice, he crossed the town square and raced between the houses. Past the mansion on the nearest road out of town, Raine was struggling in the grip of a giant striped hand jutting from the ground. A second hand was clenched closed around its prey. A pair of tiny kicking legs poking into the air was the only things visible beyond the monstrous limb. Still charging, Laguna slammed the iron pan against the hand that trapped Raine. The small woman stabbed the point of her walking stick into the monochrome flesh. The combined jolt shocked the hand into releasing its grip and Raine scrambled out of range. Laguna pointed to the second hand and called out to Raine. "Hit it at the same time! Alright! Let's go!"

Again, Laguna surged forward, using his momentum to give his strike greater power. Raine dashed and lunged as if she was wielding a spear, piercing the disembodied striped hand with her pointed stick. Ellone dropped to the ground, free of the monster. Laguna snatched the little girl up and raced back to the pub with Raine keeping pace beside him.

The pub's door clicked closed and Laguna dropped into a chair with Ellone still under one arm. Setting the pan aside on the table, he pulled the crying girl onto his lap. She clutched at his shirt, pressing her face into his shoulder. He felt the warm wetness of tears and snot seep through the fabric. Holding her close, he let her cry out her fear. Raine knelt beside them and ran her fingers through Ellone's short hair while she checked the child for injury. "Are you okay? Are you all right?"

Ellone simply blubbered into Laguna's shirt, muffling her sobbed words. Seeing no significant injury, Raine sighed some relief. "Why did you go outside, Ellone?"

This time, the response was more coherent. "I wanted to go to Isa's..." Wet brown eyes glanced away from damp fabric. "I found her bracelet."

"But you know you're not supposed to go outside without an adult with you," reminded Raine.

Laguna gently tousled Ellone's hair. "Monsters like that are why you can't go out without a grown-up. That monster was gonna suck all your blood out an' eat you!" When Ellone's tears ran fresh, he hastily added, "But you just call for me and I'll come rescue you! Okay? Raine called for me and I came running!"

This seemed to comfort the child and she nodded, still clutching onto his shirt. Raine stood and brushed herself off. "Let's go upstairs," she said, leading the way. Laguna gathered Ellone in his arms and followed.

Once Ellone was on her bed and her favorite stuffed toy, a well-loved moogle, was in her arms, Laguna returned to the stairway. Raine called out to him, "Where are you going?"

"I'm gonna get my gun," he replied over the sound of his boots thudding down the steps.

Raine did not want to leave Ellone alone, but she had a hunch about what soldier was up to. "Wait here," she told her charge, "I'm going to go with Laguna. We'll be right next door."

Inside the house next door, Laguna unlocked the cabinet and brought out his weapon. Instinct and habit guided his hands as he loaded the magazine. Raine stopped in the doorway. "You're not going to hunt that thing alone," she told him.

"I don't want to, but I will if I have to," he replied as he grabbed a long swingline and coiled it. "I'm going to talk to the soldiers stationed here. See if I can get them to do their job. They're supposed to protect this town." His brows drew together and his jaw set, while he picked up a pair of grenades and stowed them in his pockets. "They abandoned their duty. They just sat on their asses while you and Elle were in trouble!" He thrust a finger in the direction of the mansion and continued, "And they're still there, doing nothing!" Slinging his machine gun over his shoulder, he approached the doorway that Raine still blocked. "If they don't do something about this, then I will. First, that monster is going down. Then, I'll write a letter to their superior officer in Deling and let them know what's going on. I may have been called a reject during my time in the army, but at least I did my job."

Raine still stood in the doorway. "I'm going with you, no matter the outcome." Before he could protest about her going monster hunting with him if the soldiers brushed him off, she added, "This is my town, my home, and I was attacked. I have my duty too."

Laguna considered this for a moment, and then gave a short nod. "Alright. Let's go."

Inside the mansion at the end of the town square, the red-garbed commanding officer raised a brow at the long-haired man's complaint. "Our duty," the officer replied, "Is not to protect this town from monsters. Our duty is to protect Galbadia from Esthar. We're undermanned and undersupplied in this nowhere village as it is. Do you honestly expect me to waste man-hours and ammunition on sport?"

Laguna jerked. "Sport? You think that protecting people is a game? Man, are you out of touch. If something isn't done to curb the monster migration, there might not be a town to be stationed at!"

"Fine by me," was the captain's flippant answer, "Then my men and I can go somewhere more significant than this backwater hole with a name."

The stomp of Raine's foot on the wooden floor rang off of the walls. "I can't believe this! This is my home! It's not much, but I can't imagine being anywhere else. You would let everyone who lives here lose their homes, if not their lives? You should be dragged out into the street and shot!"

The captain leaned over his desk. "By who? Your washout boyfriend? I doubt he has it in him to shoot a man. He seems to prefer game." Laguna's expression darkened and the leather of his gloves creaked as his fists clenched. The officer continued without pause. "Now, you listen. If any of my men disobey any of my orders, if any of my men act out of line, they lose a month's pay and are additionally disciplined accordingly. I hope my message is clear."

Before Raine could retort, Laguna spoke in a low tone. "Perfectly. I'm sorry we wasted our time." Placing a hand on her shoulder, Laguna guided Raine out of the mansion and towards the pub. "You got a better weapon than a pointy stick?"

Raine nodded as she opened the door. "Why didn't you tell him off?"

"It's not worth it," Laguna answered, "There's other ways to fight that battle. We have bigger eels to fry."

That last made Raine pause. "Don't you mean fish? Fish to fry?"

"Whatever! Does it matter?"

"I suppose not." Raine started to climb the stairs, "I'll be back down in a minute."

When she returned, she had Ellone in tow and what looked to be a short sword resting against her shoulder. At closer inspection, Laguna's eyes flew wide. "Whoa! That's one antique gunblade! Does it still work? Can I see it?"

Raine handed the weapon to him. "It was my father's and, before that, my grandfather's. The gun part doesn't work anymore, though."

Laguna inspected the old gunblade, wrapping his hand around the polished wood handle. It was a design from the days when the gunblade was nothing more than a very long revolver with a glorified bayonet. Far smaller than its modern descendants, its blade was affixed down the entire length of the wood-braced barrel before jutting out another barrel length. Spots of rust marred the metal and Laguna could verify that the action of the gun was damaged. "Oh man... Pretty sorry shape. I could fix it up if you want me to, though. The blade's still got a decent edge, at least." He handed the weapon back to her. "So, do you know how to use it?"

"My dad showed me a few things before he died, but no, not really. Hit the monster with the sharp end is all I really understand."

"Eh... Good enough. I'll cover you if things get too hot." He glanced at Ellone. "So, what's Elle gonna do?"

"We're taking her to Amelia's before we tackle the monster," Raine explained, "I don't want to leave her here alone for much longer."

"Cool."

As they walked away from Amelia's house after dropping Ellone off, Raine snickered. "I haven't seen Amelia's eyes bug out that much in a long time. I think your gun shocked her."

"Ah, this is nothing. You should see the truck mounted ones. Those are cool."

"How are we going to find the monster?"

"We'll track it down. It won't be too far away."

Together, they searched along the road and between houses before venturing the outlaying pastures and orchards outside of town. Passing under flowering cherry trees, Raine finally spoke. "You have shot at men, haven't you?"

Laguna nodded and his voice was quiet. "And killed. Yeah."

"Why didn't you correct him?"

"The red bull? No point. I didn't wanna get into it." He sighed and brushed a fallen pale petal off of his face. "I don't find any glory or pride in keeping a tally. Those guys who were on the other side of my barrel, they could have been like me with nowhere to go and no one to miss 'em. Or, they could have had a wife and kids and family that would hurt with him gone. What happens to our side happens on the other, too, I'm sure. But when it comes down to it, I gotta make a choice." He paused under the gentle snowfall from the trees. "It's nothing to gloat about."

Raine shook her hair free of petals. "Aren't soldiers trained to see their enemies as not human?"

A wry grin came to Laguna's lips. "I'm not exactly the model soldier."

She glanced at the dark hair that reached the disks on the back of his jacket and returned the smile. Suddenly, his stance lowered and his gun aimed in front of him. Her gaze searched the orchard for whatever caught his attention. "What is it?"

"I think we're on the right trail this time," he murmured, "I see finger tracks." He pointed with the barrel of his gun to the scrape marks along the orchard floor. They were fresh; the petals falling from the trees had yet to cover them.

Gripping her heirloom weapon in both hands, Raine followed Laguna on the trail. His gait was slow and smooth, stalking his prey with quiet steps. Pale pink drops from the trees slid off of the black metal, continuing their journey to the ground. Sharply focused eyes scanned his surroundings. Raine tried to imitate his gait, but for once, she felt like she was the awkward one. His pace picked up to a lope, following the trail with easy speed.

Abruptly stopping, Laguna raised his gun and fired a series of staccato bursts. One striped hand under a tree shuddered and turned. Laguna aimed again. "I see Lefty! Where's Righty?"

Raine scanned the trees, "I don't know. I don't see it." She recalled her last experience with Righty and put her back facing Laguna's. "I'll keep an eye out for it so we don't get ambushed."

"Cool." He fired again, trying to take down the disembodied hand before it started casting magic. He had a feeling that the faeries weren't going to help anytime soon. Now was a time that he wished he had a package of Silence Powder to tie around a grenade.

A yelp from Raine behind him turned him around. She was slashing at Righty, who had jumped her from the tree above. Laguna couldn't fire at Righty from point blank without risking the bullet passing through the monster and hitting Raine. Instead, he beat at the creature with the body of his gun. Raine cut deeply the flesh between its thumb and palm, inspiring it to release her. The hand skittered away to join its mate. The wrists attached themselves to the ground and the earth shivered. From the ground, the striped face of a Vysage emerged.

Laguna lifted Raine to her feet. "No way!" He raised his weapon to ready and called out to the air. "Anytime would be cool, faeries!" He fired a few more rounds at Lefty.

Raine's voice reached his ears. "You already damaged Lefty. Let's get closer, so we can finish it off. Cover me!"

When she was close enough, Raine leaped forward and slashed at the hand. Righty made another grab for her, but Laguna intercepted with hot lead. Raine continued to hack away at Lefty, while Laguna kept Vysage and Righty busy. The giant left hand made arcane gestures into the air and the ground cracked beneath the feet of the hunters. Laguna barely had enough time to cry out a warning to Raine before he was knocked off of his feet by the Quake. Raine was slammed into a tree and she crumpled to the ground with the breath knocked out of her. Laguna scrambled to regain his footing and began firing at Lefty, hoping he could finish the job. Righty pounced on the opportunity and grabbed Laguna, squeezing him until his ribs creaked and thrashing him violently. When Laguna was finally slammed onto the earth, he staggered back to his feet. Raine was bracing herself against the tree, trying to regain her composure as quickly as possible. The Vysage opened its mouth and sighed, striking Raine and Laguna with a noxious mist. Raine dropped to the ground again and Laguna was forced to kneel.

Gathering his strength, Laguna stood. He pulled a grenade from his pocket, pulled the pin out with his teeth, and tossed it at the monsters. Casting the swingline into the trees, he jumped onto the rope and held down the trigger of his gun. A steady stream of bullets perforated the creatures and brass shells littered the ground, intermingled with fallen flowers. After a few seconds, he dived off of the line and turned his back to the exploding grenade. Lefty curled in on itself and collapsed. Another few rounds from Laguna's machine gun and Righty quickly followed. Raine climbed back to her feet and charged the remaining Vysage, antique gunblade gripped in both hands. She hacked and slashed at the monster in a furious barrage. Diving away, she cleared Laguna's firing line and he pulled the trigger again. The giant face opened its mouth in a silent cry before sinking into the earth, silent.

With the monsters defeated, Laguna jumped into the air and pumped his gun over his head in victory. Raine rested the old gunblade on her shoulder and turned to face him with a tired smile. "We did it!"

Laguna let himself fall backwards onto the thick carpet of petals shaken from the trees during the earthquake. Raine soon joined him, letting herself catch her breath. Turning his head towards her, Laguna grinned. "You did pretty good. The G-Army should look into recruiting women like you!"

"Thanks. I think."

"No, seriously! Man, too bad you can't come with me on the road. I could use someone at my back."

"But the wench has a pub and a little girl to look after, so she can't run away with the gypsy."

"Why not? Then you could keep Elle! We could go to Balamb, or Centra, or even Trabia, if we wanted. I could write articles and we could sell stuff from the monsters we kill." He hauled himself to his feet and he strode to the fallen monsters. "That reminds me... Did they drop anything good?" There were just a dozen of M-stone pieces to be collected. "Hrm. Not much, but they'll still get about sixty gil for the lot."

Raine stood and brushed herself off. "I don't want to kidnap Ellone, Laguna. I would like to get by in life without a police record. Besides, what would I do about the pub? Or Ellone's house? Who will take care of them?"

"Oh... Yeah." Laguna followed Raine back towards the town. As they walked, an idea came to mind. "Hey, Raine," he ventured, "Would you mind if I took time off from the pub to patrol the town for monsters? Maybe I can keep the worst of it down. I can use what I get off of the monsters to buy more ammo and stuff."

Raine shrugged, "It sounds fine to me. Just don't get yourself hurt doing it."

Laguna grinned and saluted her. "Yes, sir, commander, sir!"

Rolling her eyes, Raine continued walking to Winhill. She had Ellone to pick up and lunch to make.


	13. Words Unspoken

Standard Disclaimer: FFVIII belongs to Square-Enix, yadda yadda yadda… You know the rest.

* * *

_One Good Shoulder - Chapter Thirteen_

Raine examined in the bathroom mirror the dark bruises that splotched her back and ribs. Wincing, she pulled her slender hand away from the discolored flesh. Now that the numbing adrenaline was long gone, her aching body was telling her to never do something so foolhardy ever again.

The hot bath was a divine luxury and she lowered herself slowly into the tub. Relaxing, she let the heat work its magic on sore muscles. When she closed her eyes, she could still see flashes of that morning's fight with a Vysage. _'What was I thinking? Why did I go with him?'_ She held a deep breath a moment before letting it go. If she was seriously hurt or killed, who would take care of Ellone?

Behind shut eyelids, she saw the image of Laguna smiling at her_. 'He would if he could, but his chances of getting custody of her are worse than mine. He's an unrelated, unmarried soldier.'_ That benign image shifted to the set jaw and focused eyes she saw when he hunted down the monster. _'How many more faces does he have?'_

That fight at Laguna's side... Part of her enjoyed it, but the other part was terrified by it. Everything seemed to move so fast that she could barely keep up. It had felt like it took everything she had to make the hits count. It had felt like it took everything she had to get back to her feet when she was knocked down. Then there was Laguna, rolling with the punches and dealing damage in return with apparent ease in her mind's eye. The fight did not seem as hard for him as it was for her. She opened her eyes and stared at the ceiling. _'Of course it wouldn't. He's a soldier and he's been one for a long time. He's used to it. Trained for it. I'm just a civilian who runs a pub and takes care of a little girl.'_ Scenes from the battle flickered through her mind. She remembered hitting the ground three times in that battle. It made her wonder if she would have survived fighting alone. It made her wonder why she even joined Laguna on the hunt. _'I knew it was dangerous. I knew fighting those things were beyond me. Why was I so reckless?'_

Her jaw clenched and she pulled her hair away from her face. _'I went with him because I didn't want to sit around and do nothing like everyone else. I went with him because the only one who seems to care enough about this town to protect it is a man that doesn't belong here. That's not how it should be. Winhill should be protected by its own.' _

Water splashed against the porcelain sides of the tub as Raine shifted. _'This town is dying. I can feel it.'_ She was getting less and less business at the pub. The old men said that the Flower Inn and Restaurant on the other side of town was also struggling. Everyone was struggling to make ends meet nowadays. So many people were gone and the monsters made even daily activities difficult. People on either side of the small river did not venture out to the store or to church unless they it was necessary and they had a car or truck to take them. Children could not walk to school and waiting for the lone school bus outside was dangerous to the point that the bus stopped and waited for the children_. 'The Flower Festival is coming soon, but will it even happen with the town so overrun with monsters? Laguna alone can't possibly clean things up in time. What can I do?'_

Dressed in her nightgown and robe, she stepped into the main living space of the loft. The television was set to the Galbadian Evening News, since that happened to be the signal that came in clearest this night. Ellone sat in front of it, playing with her dolls. Laguna was sitting on the floor in front of the couch, meticulously cleaning the disassembled antique gunblade. His blue jacket was slung onto the sofa behind him. A letter in Laguna's scrawling handwriting to a lieutenant colonel in Deling City sat on the coffee table next to the gunblade parts and cleaning supplies. Raine sat down in her chair just as the news anchor began delivering the reports about the Timber Invasion and the war with Esthar in Centra.

Laguna looked up from his work. "How ya feelin'?"

"Still sore," Raine admitted. "How are your ribs?"

"They're not happy with me, but they've been through worse." He gingerly patted his side to illustrate. Then he remarked, "Looks like you didn't relax much in the bath." He tapped at the point between his brows. "You got a line there." Raine reflexively reached up to touch the fading crease mark. Laguna continued to speak, "If you keep worrying 'bout everything so much, you'll get old an' gray way early. You gotta let yourself relax more."

"Easier said than done," Raine quipped.

Laguna mulled over that for a moment, and then set aside the old gunblade. He glanced to the television. "Man, they never give you the whole story when they report war stuff. Sometimes things are better than what they say, sometimes it's worse. Either way, it makes me wonder who they're reportin' for." He turned the television off. "No one can relax with that stuff on."

"Sometimes I wonder how anyone can relax at all, these days."

"Well, some people go get massages an' stuff to relax," Laguna offered, "Oh man, does that sound good. I could go for that myself right now. I'm getting stiff an' sore already. One time, me 'n' Kiros 'n' Ward stopped by this one hot spring resort-type area when we were on leave. It was like a health place or something. I don't remember what it was called. But they had massages over there. Oh man... There was this really pretty blonde masseuse with nice soft hands and big... ah... curves. Yeah. Anyways! It was really, really cool. Oh man, did it feel good." He got a dreamy grin on his face and he swayed a bit. "By the time she was done with me, I was so loose. Even my leg cramp went away." His grin faded some. "Then I fell asleep. And somebody put my hair in braids. No one fessed up to that, even though I'm pretty sure who did it. There's only one man I know who knows how to make braids that fast. Man, that was way uncool! Then there was this really weird guy that was checking me and Kiros out. Now if that isn't an incentive to put the armor back on and report back in, I don't what else is!" He shuddered, "That was just really, really creepy. It was like every "don't drop the soap" joke came back at once. I usually don't like having to run around in full armor, especially if I'm in a friendly town. But, man, there are times when it's a blessing. Oh hey! It's Elle's bedtime! We promised to read Raine a story tonight. Right, Elle?"

Ellone hopped to her feet. "Right!" She skittered to the bookshelf and pulled a thin volume from it. "I wanna read this one!"

Laguna leaned towards Raine. "We couldn't find the one about the flower girl, so Elle chose that one instead. It's about a knight saving a princess, I think."

"Raine! You gotta go to bed now!" Grabbing onto her hand, Ellone pulled Raine towards her bed.

Once Raine was "tucked in", Ellone clambered onto her bed with book in hand. "Hurry up, Uncle Laguna! You have to help!"

"Just a sec!" He finished cleaning up the gunblade work and joined Ellone. Sitting on the edge of Raine's bed, he pulled Ellone onto his lap and waited for her to open the book. Placing his index finger underneath the first word to help guide the child through the syllables, he grinned down at the brown mop of hair bobbing beneath his chin. One of these days, that little head was going to uppercut him, he was sure of it. "You ready, Elle?"

"Ready!"

"Alright! Let's go!"

Raine found herself smiling soon after Elle worked her way through the first paragraph. Every now and then, Laguna's lower voice would break into the narration, prompting the girl with the correct syllable or pronunciation. Well, as close to the correct pronunciation as Laguna ever managed. His lower Deling accent tended to cut off or swallow some of letters, which made his speech sound sloppy to Raine, even though she was well adjusted to the poor articulation of many of Winhill's natives. _'Even if I cut his hair and dressed him like a farmboy, he still wouldn't fit here.'_ The mental image elicited a stray giggle from her, which brought an inquiring look from Laguna. Waving her hand for them to continue, she assured them, "It's nothing. Keep going, please."

They continued to read to her. Every now and then, Laguna praised Ellone for managing a difficult word on her own, which brought a beaming smile to the girl's face. Raine shared in that joy and added her own praise, further encouraging Ellone to continue. Memories of her own childhood with her parents flashed in her mind from time to time. She wished she had a camera handy so that she could take a picture of Ellone sitting with Laguna, reading aloud. Just something to remind her of this moment after he was gone.

Close to the end of the book, Raine felt herself beginning to drift off to sleep. Ellone was getting too tired to make it through the words, so now it was Laguna's voice that told the tale. Ellone's little head was nestled in the crook of his shoulder, dark eyes blearily gazing at illustrated pages.

"...And they lived together, happily ever after." Calloused hands gently closed the book and set it aside. Gathering the girl in his arms, Laguna picked her up to carry her to her bed.

A small voice yawned. "Like us?"

Laguna paused and tilted his head down at her. "Like us?" was his puzzled echo.

"Uh-huh. All together," Ellone replied, "Me an' Raine an' Uncle Laguna. Happy ever after."

"Um..." Something stung his eyes and he swallowed to ease a tightening throat. For a long moment, he was silent, searching for the right thing to say. When all other words failed him, he simply said, "G'night, Elle."

Once she was tucked into bed, his boots softly thumped down the wooden stairs. Deceptively bony fingers traced a path along the wall beside him. On the landing a few steps above the darkened pub floor, he stopped. Beyond the pub door was the chill early spring night. He turned his head towards the narrow stairway and the door above. Lips parted as he sucked in a breath and torturously let it go. "I'm sorry, Elle," the low whisper rasped in the shadows. _'I don't wanna be the one to tell you that not everything is happily ever after like in books.'_

He sat down on the landing, letting his legs sprawl over the last few steps to the cold floor. How many times had he wished for "together, happily ever after" like in his favorite stories as a child? Maybe, if he had found such a place, things would have turned out differently for him. Maybe things would be better than they were now. _'Elle should have her happy ending. I don't want her to be alone. I want her to have someone waiting for her to come home. I want her to have a home to come to. I want her to have a better life than what I got. I want to give that to her, but...'_ His fingers clenched around fistfuls of hair_. 'I can't unless I took her away from Winhill and I can't do that either. She has to stay with Raine! And Raine won't go for it. But Raine can't keep Elle for much longer because she's single. That's just not cool. She's been taking care of Elle just fine! Heck, she even took care of me too! That's one dedicated lady. Elle's a lucky girl to have Raine watching over her.'_

His arms dropped and draped over his knees. _'Elle wants us all to be together, like making a new family for her.' _He sighed and shook his head_. 'Sorry, Elle, but Uncle Laguna can't stay. He has to go away soon.'_

He could already hear the little girl's reply. _'Why?'_

His own mental voice scrambled for an answer_. 'Because... Because I'm all better now. I have to leave and take care of myself. I can't stay with you and Raine because... Because I'm not supposed to.'_ He frowned at that_. 'Well, that's a lame excuse. She's not gonna buy that one. Heck, I don't even buy that one. Since when has "not supposed to" ever stopped me before? Let's try that again. I can't stay with you and Raine because... Because I don't want to take further advantage of her. I don't want people to think that I'm just some freeloader. I'm not, damn it! I work at the pub and I can do monster hunting to bring in a little extra cash. Once I get articles published, that will bring in money too!' _He crossed his arms over his chest. _'That still doesn't answer the question. That just says how I _can_ stay. Let's try it again. I can't stay with you and Raine because I need to travel the world to write my articles.' _Placing his palms on the landing, he leaned back on his arms. _'That sounded better. But it still doesn't help Elle stay with Raine. Really, the only way Elle could have the happily ever after that she wants was if-''_

The door above creaked open and a slender silhouette blocked out a dim light. "Laguna? I didn't hear the door close. What are you doing down there?"

Hastily clambering to his feet, he looked up at the petite figure of Raine. "Oh, n-nothing." He waved away her concern. "Just thinking."

"Oh?"

Laguna was expecting a some sarcastic remark in reply, as he usually received whenever he admitted to thought. When it never came, he just shrugged. "It's nothing, really. I'm gonna go to bed. G'night, Raine." He took the last few steps to the door and was soon latching behind him in under the cloudy night sky. Gazing up at moonlit streaks racing across the stars, Laguna blew a steaming breath.


	14. Mr Brightside

Standard Disclaimer: FFVIII belongs to Square-Enix, yadda yadda yadda… You know the rest.

* * *

_One Good Shoulder – Chapter Fourteen_

A familiar piano tune floated through the air and Laguna followed it down the stairway of the posh Galbadian Hotel to the basement-level lounge. An elegant woman in a red silk dress sat on the bench, her slender fingers dancing across the ivory and ebony keys. Slowly, he approached her, waiting for a sudden searing pain to hobble him. When the cramp never came, he lengthened his stride and brushed his hair from his eyes with a sideways sweep of his hand. With the bravado that he only wished he could have mustered before, he leaned on the grand piano and gave the player his most dashing smile. "Hey, beautiful. Long time no see." Words that he never could find the guts to say before.

The woman kept playing her song, blithely ignorant of Laguna's presence. He kept talking. "So, how you been, Julia? I've been doing pretty good, all things considered. I'm sorry to have kept you waiting, but there wasn't much helping it. Why didn't you wait for me? Or are you still waiting? Well, anyways, I'm not dead, no matter what you've heard."

Julia finished her song with a gentle flourish and stood, returning the smile. Softly clicking heels brought her closer to him and she reached out to cup his jaw in her hand. Her chin tilted and he leaned forward to meet his lips with hers. In the next instant, Laguna touched nothing but air. In a sickening moment, he realized that she simply walked through him as if he were nothing more than a ghost. Turning around, he found himself in a familiar hotel room. Julia was in the arms of a handsome, commissioned and ranking army officer. Their lips were locked and her hand traced a path down his chest, opening his jacket. A strong hand slipped over her shoulder and down her arm, taking the strap of her dress with it. Red silk cascaded to the carpet and Laguna felt himself choke. Squeezing his eyes shut, he twisted around to walk through the hotel door.

A woman's voice called his name. He knew that voice. "Raine?" Opening his eyes, he stood in the Winhill pub. Raine bounded down the stairs, still calling his name. Laguna stepped towards her. "Raine! What's wrong?" She passed by him, not noticing that he was within arm's reach of her, and entered the kitchen. She called his name again. Laguna loped to the bar in a few easy steps. "Raine! I'm right here!" When she returned from the kitchen, he moved to stand in front of her. "What's wrong?" Her gait never slowed and she walked through him towards the pub door. Horrified, Laguna tried to stop her, but his hand only passed through her shoulder. "Raine! I'm right here! Raine! Wait!" She called his name one last time before she walked through the door, closing it behind her. He darted for the door to follow her, but only slammed into the wood.

A spasmodic jerk brought Laguna back to the waking world. Clenching his fingers in the blanket that covered him, he realized that he was in the house next door to the pub. His feet were dangling over the edge of the puny bed and he tucked them under the blanket to warm them.

When he finally entered the pub's kitchen, he found Raine sitting at the kitchen table. Her forehead was propped up with one hand, while the other fidgeted with a pencil. In front of her, a ledger and piles of bills and receipts dominated the table's surface. He pulled up a chair and sat down across from her. "Hey, Raine. What's up?"

Raine glanced up at him. "Budgeting. With the clientele drying up, I need to readjust how much I'll be spending on supplies. That's if I'll even be buying more supplies. If things don't turn around soon, I'll have a hard time paying off the bills." She set the pencil aside and leaned back in her chair. "Normally, business starts picking up at this time of year. People come for the Flower Festival or to visit family and I always come out ahead enough to make some profit. But this year, with the monster infestation so bad, I don't think the pub will break even."

Laguna placed his elbows on the table and nodded to himself. "That's not cool." He pushed away from the table and stood. "Well, I guess there's just one thing to do. Don't worry about breakfast for me, Raine. I need to get an early start on this if I'm gonna make any progress today."

"Progress on what?" Raine tilted her head and frowned.

"Monster hunting. Duh." He ambled out of the kitchen and through the bar.

Ellone was coming down the stairs. "Uncle Laguna, where're you goin'?"

"Out," Laguna answered, "I'm not gonna be here for breakfast."

Ellone scampered to his side. "Can I come?"

He shook his head. "Nope."

"But I wanna come with you!" she whined, "I wanna go outside, too!"

Laguna dropped down to one knee and tousled her short hair. "I'm gonna go on a monster huntin' mission, Elle, so you can't come. You have to stay here and... be the assistant commander to Raine."

"What's that?" she asked as she smoothed down her hair.

"The assistant commander helps the commander, that's Raine, run the base while the scout is on a mission. That's a very important job, Elle. That's why you have to do it. Someone needs to help the commander while I'm gone. The assistant commander also makes sure that the scout does stuff right while he's in the base. Can you be the assistant commander?"

The little girl thought about this for a moment, then nodded. "Yep!"

Laguna gave her a sharp salute. "Then report to the commander!" Ellone seemed a little confused at what that phrase implied, so Laguna dropped his hand so that the back of it was beside his mouth, and whispered to her, "That means go bug Raine." When Ellone darted away to the kitchen, Laguna pulled himself back to standing and left the pub.

After equipping his usual gear, Laguna began his patrol as the Monster Hunter of Winhill. _'I could probably spend weeks picking off monsters as I see them, but they'll just keep coming. I need to find where they're nesting and take out the nests. I guess I should have asked Raine she had some bottles of booze and a lighter to spare for a few cocktails. That could help, considering that I need to be careful about using my grenades for now.'_ The thunder of rapid-burst gunfire echoed as he cleared out the town square of Bite Bugs and a vagrant Caterchipillar. Moving on, he crossed the bridge over the small river. _'If I was a monster, where would I nest?'_

As he meandered through Winhill and its surrounding countryside on the search for monster nests, Laguna shot down the monsters that he encountered. Upon approaching the cherry orchard, all he found were the usual Bite Bugs and Caterchipillars that infested the town. Branches were budding with green growth above his head, even though they still defiantly held onto their blossoms. Fallen petals covered the ground under the trees so thick, it seemed as if it had snowed. The orchard itself was quiet, absent of monster activity.

Laguna jumped up and grabbed onto a sturdy branch overhead and hung from it for a few moments. _'The world's waiting for me to finish up my business and hit the road. I should be in Deling by now, if just to say hi to Julia and see how she's doing. And journalism... There's not much to write about in Winhill. Besides, if I wrote about it and it became famous, Raine would probably get mad about all of the rude tourists and stuff. It would bring some business to the pub, but she tends to get picky about that. It's not like she needs a bouncer, though. Just gotta give her a stick and point her at whoever needs to get cozy with the sidewalk. Well, if there were sidewalks in Winhill.'_

He dropped from the tree and continued to meander through the orchards. The fleeting impression of a red commissioned officer's uniform and a scarlet silk dress flickered behind his eyes. _'All I probably need to do is leave town and someone better off will walk into the pub and sweep Raine right off her feet.'_ He shook away the insistent image. "I guess it wouldn't be hard to forget about some wandering soldier if something like that came along. But as long as she's happy, that's all that matters, right?"

The air was filled with a shrill shriek and a large blur of blue dived down at the hunter. Laguna dived for the ground and rolled to a kneel with the muzzle of his gun aimed. A buzzard-like bird monster with four wings hovered in front of him. Staccato pops of gunfire struck the monster and it fought to keep its hovering altitude. With another screeching cry, it furiously beat its wings, slamming Laguna with a gust of wind. Pale fallen petals flew into his face and he suddenly felt like he was in the middle of a shaken snowglobe. He could not see his target through the flying flowers. Another screech gave him the warning that the bird monster was moving again, but not before it could strike him with a powerful beak, laying him on the ground. Dazed, the soldier instinctively scrambled to his feet and sought better ground. Ducking behind a tree for cover, he gathered his breath before darting out to fire on the monster. Once the bullets struck, he moved to another tree to help shield himself from a return attack. This pattern continued until the blue creature finally dropped lifeless to the ground. After taking a sharp-edged feather from the monster, Laguna continued his hunt.

While clearing his path of the usual monsters that inhabited Winhill, he spotted a decrepit barn standing in the middle of a young woodlot. The weathered wooden building leaned precariously to one side and the path that led to it was long overgrown. One of the doors hung open with a broken hinge. Pausing, Laguna stood still and listened to strange shuffling and burbling noises coming from within. Cautiously, he approached the decaying barn. A loud gurgle from his stomach stopped him. The noises from the barn stopped, as well. Did he alert whatever was inside? _'Maybe I should have had breakfast first.'_ He stood still for what felt like hours. When the sounds from the barn continued, Laguna moved closer with gun ready. Again, his stomach loudly complained about neglect and he froze in his tracks, cringing at the sound. Silence surrounded him and the barn. When the noises finally resumed, he continued his approach.

Peering through the door, he saw nothing but dusty beams draped with cobwebs and a floor spotted with grasses sprouting from old piles of hay and straw. Shafts of light pierced the interior through gaps in the walls and ceiling. Crouched in the far corner, a large mass of yellow feathers ruffled before they charged at him. Yelping, Laguna dived to one side to avoid long, kicking legs and a sturdy, snapping beak.

The chocobo's talons dug into the earth as she sharply turned. Over her beak and head, she wore a battered leather halter. Laguna eyed the massive bird and held his ground, not wanting to make any sudden move that could trigger another attack. "Nice bird. Pretty bird," he said in a voice that he hoped was calming and soothing to her. "This is your turf. That's cool. I'm not gonna hurt you. I'm just cleaning out some monsters." He watched the chocobo tilt her head at him, bringing a round eye to focus on her intruder. "Yeah, wouldn't you like that? No more monsters to bug you? Though, I bet you don't have a hard time with 'em. Whatever you can't beat up, you can outrun, right?" Slowly, he started to edge away from the barn. If a chocobo was taking residence there, then there wouldn't be any monsters for him to hunt.

Eyeing the worn halter, Laguna felt a genius idea coming on. Relaxing, he straightened his posture and backed away from the giant bird. He scanned his surroundings, searching for something that would help him. Spotting a small patch of greens growing against the barn, he calmly moved to pick a few. With some leafy vegetation in his gloved hand, he slowly approached the chocobo. "Are you hungry?" he asked the bird conversationally, "I have some greens if you want them. See? You like greens, right? I bet you do. If I was a chocobo, I would like greens. But I'm not a chocobo, so I don't. Which means I'm not gonna eat them and, if you don't, they're gonna go to waste. Good food shouldn't go to waste. That's just uncool."

The chocobo tilted her head this way and that, watching the talking man come closer to her with an outstretched hand full of greens. Unsure of the situation, she shifted her balance from foot to foot. He stopped just within her reach, still holding the greens and talking to her. Tentatively, she extended her neck towards the offered plants, all the while watching Laguna for any threat.

Laguna smiled when the chocobo nibbled at the greens, then devoured them. _'Stage one, complete!'_ He returned to the patch and picked a few more. This time he approached her a little more quickly. After each successful feeding, he would repeat the cycle until he could run his fingers down her long feathered neck. The chocobo burbled and kweh'ed at him, searching him for more greens. Her hard beak clinked against his dogtags as she investigated the shiny metal. "Hey, not those." He pushed her beak away and grabbed onto her halter. Vaulting onto her back, he clamped his legs around her and wrapped an arm around her neck just as she bolted into the woodland.

Warking, the chocobo tried to remove the rider from her back by brushing against trees. Spindly branches slapped Laguna's face and arms. "You gotta do better than that!" he told the angry bird. A large, low limb zoomed towards him. With wide eyes and a yelp, Laguna flattened himself against the yellow feathers before he was knocked away. Leveling her long neck, the chocobo accelerated into a full sprint. Laguna squeezed his eyes shut and heard nothing but the roar of wind against his ears. All he could do now was hang on for the ride until the bird tired.

A sharp jerk preceded a sensation of flight. He felt layer after layer of thin paper tear and crumple under his weight. Then the air was filled with a deafening hum. Eyes snapping wide, Laguna saw the chocobo standing a distance away, though everything was upside down. A swarm of Bite Bugs hovered overhead. He was on his back in a massive ball made of brittle, tan paper. Looking forward, he could see his boots pointing to the treetops and his heels crunched into the ball. Several young monster bugs crawled out through the hole Laguna made in the paper ball, shining with moisture. In that moment, he realized that the chocobo had ejected him into a Bite Bug nest. He felt every muscle in his body tense and sucked in a breath.

In his frantic scramble to right himself and get out of the nest, he tore and shredded the paper further. This only seemed to enrage the previously confused bugs. The swarm coalesced and dived down at him. Boot treads ripped the earth as Laguna bolted away with a profane yelp. More profanities spewed from his mouth as he ducked and ran away from the pinching mandibles and piercing stingers of the furious monster insects. After beating away some of the bugs with his gun, he managed to get his finger around the trigger and faced the swarm. Bugs scattered and dropped under a hail of automatic gunfire. Holes punctured the nest and a new impulse seized Laguna. Charging forward, he reached into his pocket for a grenade and pulled the pin out with his teeth. He skidded to a stop and pitched the explosive into the crater he had left in the nest. Now, it was time for retreat. The nest was blasted into chunks of confetti and Laguna dashed for safety.

Once he was sure that the bugs stopped following him, he collapsed against a tree to catch his breath. Swallowing against a wave of nausea, the monster hunter closed his eyes. His fingers traced a path up one arm, investigating the welts from the bites and stings. Another wave of nausea crashed upon him. "I'm stung and poisoned," he told himself, "Way uncool. How far is the pub?" Could he get there in time? Which way was the pub? Where did the chocobo take him?

There was not much time to spare, so Laguna pushed himself up to standing. The world tilted and he staggered. "Oh, man," he groaned while bracing himself against a tree. "Not cool." Limping unsteadily, he picked a direction and began to walk.

At the pub, Raine finished polishing the brass on the tap handles in the bar and admired the shine. One good thing about having so few customers was that she had extra time to clean things up. Crossing her arms, she studied the room. Perhaps she could redecorate or remodel the place someday. At the very least, it needed some freshening up, such as refinishing the bar and floors. Though, if she could afford it, she wanted to expand the living quarters of the building and change the layout of the stairway so that it was accessed through the kitchen, instead of the pub itself. The plumbing needed updating, as well. While she was getting handy with the plunger and snake, clearing clogged drains was not something that she enjoyed. Of course, with Laguna around, she could always hand that task to him. How he always managed to get himself half-soaked while doing it, she could not fathom.

A thump against the door yanked her out of her thoughts. Ellone paused her helping with the dusting and ran to the door. "I get it!" she chirped.

The sound of something sliding down the door brought Raine running to grab the girl away. "I'll get it," she told her. She gasped when she opened the door and a kneeling, unconscious Laguna toppled forward. Reflexively calling his name, she kneeled down next to him. When she rolled him over onto his back, she began to search him for clues on what happened to him. The welts were unmistakable and a broken stinger fragment was jammed between the cloth of his jacket and one of its metal disks. Ellone was jostling his shoulder and calling out to "Uncle Laguna", unsuccessfully trying to wake him up. Raine jumped to her feet and ran to the kitchen. "Antidote!" Behind her, Ellone began to cry in fear and frustration.

Laguna awoke on the couch in Raine's loft. _'I made it... The faeries had to have been with me this time.'_ He lifted his arm and winced from the fatigue and soreness of his flesh. Knitting his brows together, he pulled away the soft mass that was jammed into the crook of his other elbow. Ellone's plush moogle blithely smiled at him in his hand. Laguna smiled back.

Raine spoke from her chair. "You worried us. Watch your step." She pointed to the floor by the couch, where Ellone was wrapped up in her blanket.

The little girl wiggled out of the pale green cloth and stood. "You okay, Uncle Laguna?"

He nodded and handed the toy moogle back to her. "Yeah. I'll be okay."

Readjusting her headband, Raine asked, "So, what happened?"

Laguna took a breath to speak, and then glanced at Ellone. Groaning, he pushed himself up and onto his feet. Standing in front of Raine's chair, he straightened his posture and gave a salute. "Reporting to the commander and assistant commander! Here's my report on today's patrol and monster extermination! After exterminating an uncounted number of monsters, I encountered a... Fast All-Terrain Transport Chocobo. Acquisition attempts were ultimately unsuccessful. The FATT Chocobo brought me to an enemy base, which was destroyed under heavy fire. Serious casualties were inflicted on both sides."

Suppressing a grin, Raine eyed the soldier. "Commander and assistant commander?"

"Yeah," he replied, "The assistant commander has to stay at the base to help the commander run operations while the scout is out on patrols." He pointed at Ellone. "Assistant commanders aren't supposed to go on patrol missions."

"I see," nodded Raine, "Assistant commanders definitely are not supposed to go on patrol missions." Then she raised a brow at Laguna. "So, do these patrols include wrangling chocobos?"

Laguna grinned. "The missions include whatever it takes to achieve their objectives."

Now, she leveled a stern glare at him. "Including getting stung to death?"

He shrugged and rubbed at the back of his neck. "That wasn't part of the objectives."

"You were lucky."

"Yeah. I know." Laguna dropped onto the couch and laid down on it. "I think the faeries saved my butt again. Y'know, that's starting to worry me."

Raine tilted her head and drew up her knees. "How so?"

"Well, in the stories, when the faeries help you, you gotta pay it back someday," Laguna explained, "There's nothing free when it comes to the faeries. In some stories, they don't ask for much back. The person they help ends up giving food, or shelter, or entertainment, or things like flowers to the faeries. Stuff that any good person would give to someone who helped them. Then there are other stories where the faeries ask for a heavier price. In one story, the person the faeries helped ended up spending the rest of his life in servitude to them. Though the most common one in those darker stories is the faeries taking the first-born kid and raising it as their own or killing it. Not that I'm worrying about that one, but the stories make me wonder what the faeries are going to ask from me. There's no way I could have floated from Centra to Winhill on my own. And today had to be more than just luck."

"It was just dumb luck," Raine assured him. "Which seems like the only kind you have. Besides, I don't think you need to worry about this. There's no such thing as faeries."

"Yeah, well, you've never encountered them yourself." He raised a finger to emphasize his point. "But they do exist."

Shaking her head, Raine climbed out of her chair. "Of all the superstitions you have to believe in... I'm going back downstairs." When her footsteps crossed the threshold between floors, she muttered, "Why couldn't he believe in aliens like _normal_ people?"

* * *

A/N: The dream sequence at the beginning of this chapter is something that was rolling around in the back of my mind for the past few weeks. Inspiration provided by part of The Killers' "Mr. Brightside". 


	15. Road Unwinding

Standard Disclaimer: FFVIII belongs to Square-Enix, yadda yadda yadda… You know the rest.

* * *

_One Good Shoulder – Chapter Fifteen_

Laguna squirmed on the wooden floor, trying to alleviate the numbness of his posterior. His hair pulled with the shift and he winced. Ellone's voice scolded him from behind. "Uncle Laguna! You gotta stay still!"

With his face still contorted with discomfort, he whined, "How much longer is this gonna take? I can't feel my butt anymore and my back is starting to hurt!"

Ellone giggled and continued to braid the blue ribbon into a section of his hair. "Almost done!"

Laguna groaned, but tried to tolerate the situation. "Why can't you practice on Raine?"

The replying tone was matter-of-fact. "You play with me, Uncle Laguna, an' your hair is long like a girl's."

He resisted the urge to mimic Raine's facepalm that he had seen on so many occasions. "Thanks, Elle." After a few quiet moments, he commented, "Are you excited for the festival?"

She bobbed her head with vigor, though he could not see it. "There's gonna be a parade an' candy! I wanna get more fish too! You're gonna help, right? You're gonna help me get more fish? My fish is lonely."

Laguna's glance darted to the fishbowl, where a single white and orange goldfish swam in circles. "Yep! 'Course I'll help. Can't leave your fish all alone, after all." He winced when he felt something pointed scrape against his scalp.

Ellone's pointed finger came into view. "Uncle Laguna, I want the other white flowers."

Obediently, he handed her the small silk flowers that sat in front of him and felt her stick them into his hair. Sighing, he tried not to fidget. _'Alright, so I'm at what on the manliness scale? Negative five? Ten? Man, just stick me in a dress and get it over with. Wait. Better not give Elle any ideas.'_

Footsteps approaching from behind alerted him to another presences and he twisted around to face Raine. She was trying her hardest not to laugh by clapping her hands over her mouth, but her shoulders were shaking and tears were streaming from her eyes. Laguna pointed a finger at her. "Your turn's next. I'm fresh outta hair for Elle."

A drawer slid open and Raine reached into it, pulling out a camera. Laguna's eyes widened and he held out his hands to ward it away. "No! No pictures!" Raine continued to snicker as she raised the camera and focused on him.

Laguna surged to his feet and bolted to escape the aim of the lens. Diving behind the couch, he scrambled to find his next move. Raine was between him and the stairway. Not that there were many options downstairs. There was no way he was going to be caught by the villagers like this.

Raine darted to catch Laguna behind the couch, but he vaulted over the furniture and launched towards the bathroom. Slamming the door behind him, he braced himself against the barrier. The door had no lock and he felt the wood jerk against his back when Raine tried to force it open. Digging his heels in, he counted on his greater weight to counter her efforts.

Movement in the bathroom mirror caught his attention and he gaped at the reflection. "Elle, what did you do!" His hair was in many braids intertwined with ribbons and speckled with small silk flowers. The door bumped against his back as Raine and Elle tried to force it open, giggling all the while. Laguna's fingers worked quickly to remove the flowers, ribbons, and braids. When he was sure that all of Ellone's handiwork was gone, he let the door fly open.

Ellone glared at his loose hair and clenched her little fists. "Uncle Laguna!"

"Sorry, Elle. It had to come out." He crossed his arms and smugly grinned at Raine. "Ha! So now what are you gonna do?"

Raine raised the camera and the flash flared brightly. Yelping, Laguna shielded his eyes with an upraised arm, though he was still seeing the afterimage of the flash when he lowered his guard. "Oh man, Raine... Blind me, why don't ya?" He rubbed at his eyes to try to clear the spot in his vision away.

"Oh, stop being such a big baby," Raine retorted with a grin still on her lips. She put the camera away and watched Laguna help Ellone pick up the scattered ribbons and flowers. "What are you going to do today?"

Laguna glanced up for a moment. "Hunt some monsters, work on the truck... I'm glad the new gasket finally came in." He braced himself against the doorway and stood. "Why're you askin'?"

"I just wanted to know if you were going to spend all day playing with Ellone," Raine replied as she readjusted the blue kerchief that held her hair away from her face, "I have some work for you in the kitchen and pub."

Laguna ambled towards her. "I got a date with the mop, huh?"

She nodded and began leading the way back downstairs. "And the sink. And I have some spoiled vegetables and moldy bread that can go down the way to Amelia's chickens."

"Gotta pay for the eggs somehow." He paused, and then added, "Why don't you get some chickens for yourself? I bet I can build a coop for them in the back. Amelia's don't look that complicated. It's just a shed and a runway."

Raine raised a brow at yet another Laguna-ism. "A runway?" While the image of chickens coming in for a landing on an asphalt strip amused her, she was certain that was not what he meant.

"Yeah! You know, that long pen-thing along the fence that the birds run around in?"

She nodded, comprehending. "I see."

"Yeah. All I need is some boards, nails, and that wire mesh stuff. All that should be down at the store. I know he has some of that wire mesh. I saw a couple rolls of it in the back corner next to the animal feed stuff. There's plenty of nails in the garage and some wood. Dunno if it's enough, but I can get more if we need it."

Raine stepped behind the bar and continued to the kitchen. "Speaking of the store, why is Conrad in such a snit? I heard something about you and a card game."

"Oh, that?" Laguna let a little swagger slip into his stride. "Yeah, there was some Triple Triad goin' on and I sat in an' whooped him. Won an entire hand from him, including his Siren card. He's really pissed about it, but he woulda taken my cash if I lost."

"You were gambling? Laguna!" Raine crossed her arms. "You should give those cards back."

"Ah, he can win them back later. It's no big deal." He pointed to a battered metal bowl with rotten vegetables in it. "That goes to the chickens?" When she nodded, he took the bowl outside.

Later in the day, Raine brought a sandwich out to the detatched garage behind the pub, where Laguna was trying to work on her truck. The new gasket was laying out on a workbench, along with scattered tools and his discarded jacket. "I brought some lunch," she announced before she set the plate with the sandwich alongside the tools

Laguna gave the food a cursory glance and returned to the task at hand. "Thanks."

Raine peered at the exposed engine. Laguna was disconnecting a few parts to gain access to the old gasket. Every so often, he would tuck a lock of hair behind his ear in a constant attempt to keep it out of the way while he worked. Knitting her brows, Raine noticed this distraction.

The sudden intrusion of fingers combing back his hair made Laguna jump. He tried to turn to face Raine, but she held him firm. "Stay still," she told him, "This will just take a moment." He could feel her wrapping something over the top of his head and tying it above his nape. When she was done, he turned and saw that her blue kerchief was gone. Reaching for the back of his neck, he pulled a blue edge of fabric into his vision. Before he could say anything, she spoke, "Don't get it too dirty."

"I'll try not to."

"Your hair will be as long as mine in no time, if this keeps up," she remarked, "I can't believe how fast it grows. Would you like me to cut it for you? It might be a little more manageable then."

He jerked a step backwards. "You would do that?"

"Of course I would. I cut Ellone's. Yours should be easier. You're old enough to sit still, right?"

Laguna caught her teasing smile and returned a mischievous grin. "I dunno 'bout that. I still got tons of energy."

Raine crossed her arms and leaned against the garage doorway. "Well, if that's the case, I expect you to be cleaning up the pub tonight." She pushed off of the beam and turned back to the pub. "Make sure to bring the plate back in when you're done."

Watching her walk back to the pub door, Laguna leaned against the garage doorway that Raine vacated. His mind was blank until she closed the door, breaking the trance.

Hours passed and Laguna returned to the kitchen, setting the empty plate next to the sink. Raine poked her head in just in time to see him rummaging through the refrigerator and retrieve a cola. As he popped the can open, she asked, "Did you get it fixed?"

"Almost," he replied with the can halfway to his lips. "The gasket's in, but I think I reconnected something wrong. I figured it was time for a break, 'cause I'm beating my head against the wall."

Raine wrinkled her nose at the scent of grease, sweat, and fuel that was radiating from Laguna. "You're taking a bath after this, right?"

Tilting his head and swallowing a mouthful of soda, he raised one arm and sniffed under it. Shrugging, he shook his head at Raine. "Aw, c'mon! It's not that bad."

"You're giving off fumes," Raine countered, "I'm not feeding you until after you clean up."

He shrugged again and took another swig of his drink. An opened envelope and a letter on the table caught his eye. It had the header of the Galbadian Children's Services. Reading it, his brows furrowed. "Man, they're not wasting time, are they? They already found a couple potential families for Elle?" Glancing up, he saw that Raine was glaring at a corner of the kitchen floor. "So, this is it? Once they make a decision and get through all of the red tape, she's gone?"

Nodding, Raine clenched her fists. With a voice brimming with bitterness, she replied, "I hate it, but there's nothing else I can do."

"Oh, hey," Laguna interjected, "Now don't go sayin' that. There's always something. We just haven't found it yet."

A harsh sigh blasted from Raine. "If I was married, then this wouldn't be a problem. I could adopt Ellone and that would be that. It just bothers me that it's the only thing left that I can think of and... I don't know if I could do something like that. It doesn't sound right. But it just seems like getting married would solve all of this, even though..." She let her words die away.

Laguna opened his mouth and took a breath to speak, but no words came out. He rotated the can between his hands, watching the label turn. "So... How many fish can that bowl upstairs hold?"

A scowl creased Raine's face. "What?"

"We're gonna get more fish for Elle at the festival, right? I was wondering how many more could fit in there without crowding the little guys."

Raine shook her head and cast her hands to her sides as if she was throwing something unpleasant to the ground before storming through the kitchen door. Inside the pub, Ellone was hopping up and down behind the bar. The door opened and Amelia entered, carrying a recycled egg carton. The little girl darted out from the bar towards the older woman. "Guess what?" chirped Ellone, "Uncle Laguna an' Raine are getting married!"

Raine's eyes flew wide and the sound of Laguna sputtering and choking could be heard from the kitchen. "Ellone!" Raine rebuked, "We did not say that! That wasn't what we were talking about!"

Staggering from the kitchen, a coughing Laguna had his hands clapped over his face and tears streaming from his eyes. "Oh man! It came out my _nose_!" He tried to wipe cola off of his face with the backs of his dripping hands.

Ellone pouted at Raine. "But I want you to marry Uncle Laguna! Then we can be together and happy ever after!"

Kneeling down, Raine hugged the child. "Oh, Ellone, it doesn't work like that. Laguna and I aren't going to get married."

Ellone pushed away from her guardian. "Yes, you are! You have to!" She broke out of Raine's arms and ran up the stairs to the loft.

Fidgeting with the egg carton, Amelia approached the bar. "I'll just leave these here while you sort this out," she said as she set the full carton on the bartop. Pausing, she squinted at the kerchief that held back Laguna's hair. Pointing to it, she asked, "Isn't that Raine's?"

Closing his gaping jaw with a click, Laguna nodded. "Uh, yeah. Um, I'm gonna go out and finish working on the truck." With that said, he retreated through the kitchen door and escaped to the garage.

Later that night, after a shower and a meal, Laguna finished cleaning the dishes while Raine dried and put them away. He unplugged the sink drain and watched the dirty water swirl away. "She's still mad, huh?"

Raine nodded, "She'll be better in the morning." She sighed and put the last dish away. "I understand how she feels. Even though we've all been together for only about a year, it feels like much longer. In her mind, we're already her family."

"Yeah." He rinsed out the sink with automatic motions.

"Now that your hair's clean, should I cut it now?" Raine inquired, "Otherwise, we might forget about it until the old men start making louder noises about you being a gypsy. You really were starting to look the part today."

He raised a brow. "Really?" When she nodded, he grinned broadly. "You know, some chicks dig that kind of look."

Rolling her eyes, Raine crossed her arms and shook her head. "Go get a towel and have a seat. I'll go get the comb and scissors."


	16. Crossroad

Standard Disclaimer: FFVIII belongs to Square-Enix, yadda yadda yadda… You know the rest.

* * *

_One Good Shoulder – Chapter Sixteen_

A tall, dark figure silently followed the street to the town square and paused to survey the surroundings. The beads at the end of three long braids tapped together as the man turned his head from side to side. Three Galbadian soldiers were standing guard in front of a modest mansion, otherwise the village seemed deserted. Sheathing the long blades with perpendicular grips that his people called katals, Kiros exhaled and approached the nearest soldier.

"Excuse me, but I'm looking for a friend of mine," he began, "His name is Laguna Loire. He stands about-"

The soldier cut off the rest of the words and jerked a thumb to a nearby building. "Go to the pub. If he's not there, then Raine will know where he's at."

Dark eyes blinked blankly. "He's here?" Shaking away his disbelief, he hastily thanked the soldier and jogged to the pub.

There were no customers in the pub at this time of day and Kiros wondered if he was supposed to simply enter. Was the pub actually closed? A petite woman with long brown hair came into the bar from the kitchen, wiping her hands on a towel. "Can I help you?" she asked. A little girl poked her head out from behind the bar, staring at the dark stranger.

Kiros nodded and stepped up to the bar. "I'm looking for Laguna. Is he here?"

The child hopped out and chirped, "I go get him!" With that, she scurried out of the pub.

"Ellone! Wait!" But the girl was already out the door. Eyeing the visitor, she scanned him, letting her gaze settle on the weapons sheathed on his thighs. "So, you're a friend of Laguna's?"

He nodded again. "We served together in the army. My name is Kiros Seagill."

"You're Kiros?" She tilted her head at him. He certainly was not what she was expecting. He looked even less like a soldier than Laguna did.

"Yes. Laguna told you about me?"

"He talked about you when he spoke about his days in the army," answered Raine, "Yours was one of the few names he actually mentioned."

Kiros felt a smile pull across his face, betraying his composure. "I see." He leaned on the bar, making sure to keep his hands where the keeper could see them. "Is he well?"

"Well and active." There was a hint of exasperation mixed with amusement in her voice. Laguna was up to his usual mischief, then? A good sign.

Another question formed in his mind. "How long has he been here?"

"About a year."

"That long? He's been here all this time?" When Raine confirmed that, he shook his head. Why had he not returned to Deling? What was keeping Laguna here?

"Is there anything I can get for you while you wait?"

"No, thanks."

Soon, Ellone returned to the pub and was scolded by Raine for running outside without an adult. Not long after, Laguna entered. Sure enough, he seemed well. Kiros smiled at his former commander. "It's been a while, Laguna."

Laguna's eyes brightened with joy and surprise. "Kiros!"

After some chat to catch up on Ward and Julia, a monster hunting patrol, and some rest, Laguna escorted Kiros back to the pub after Raine called for them. Lunch was ready.

Kiros sat at the kitchen table across from his former commander and ate the afternoon meal Raine had prepared for them. Dark eyes studied Laguna, analyzing every feature for clues about what the man had been doing in this backwater village for the past year. On the outside, Laguna seemed untouched by the passage of time, right down to the length of his hair and the amiable expression that he wore. However, the light in his eyes and the conviction in his dreams had changed. New dreams were forming, though hidden from view. Their only sign of being was in the erosion of the old attitudes that Kiros recognized. The Laguna he remembered abhorred being stationary and was always searching for another road to travel, another experience to take with him. To imagine that the man who once boasted that wherever he put his head was home could be content in a quiet place such as this...

Laguna and Ellone began exchanging faces at each other, which quickly evolved into a gross-out competition by displaying the chewed up food in their mouths. Kiros chuckled at the juvenile behavior. At least, superficially, not much had changed at all.

Raine turned around and snapped, "Laguna! Stop that! Don't be teaching Ellone that!" She returned to the table and took her place. "Seriously, how old are you?"

He closed his mouth and swallowed, and then grinned at Kiros. "Oh, hey, do you remember that time we were reconning out in the Centra highlands and we almost got spotted by an Esthar patrol?"

"I remember several times that we almost got spotted," the tall, dark man replied.

"The one where we got the bad rations beforehand," Laguna clarified.

Kiros groaned as the memory came to him. "Yes. I can't believe we made it through that."

Raine's glance darted between the two soldiers. "What happened?"

Laguna continued the tale, "Well, we were lucky enough to spot them first, so we dove for cover under a rock ledge and got real quiet, so that they could pass by us. We didn't wanna fight 'em, 'cause that could alert the rest of their unit that we were in the area and that would not be cool. Well, as they were passing by, I had to let one squeak. Then Ward let one squeak. Do you know how hard it is to fart silently? Especially after doin' contests?"

Raine felt her lip curl and tried to ignore Ellone's hysterical giggle. Did she really want to know? "Contests?"

"Yeah, like belching contests, but with the other end." Laguna continued, "Ward usually wins at those. Both of those, actually. Anyways, Kiros almost died down there, tryin' not to breathe. I thought for sure we were gonna end up in a tangle when the Esthar soldiers caught wind of us, but they ended up trying to blame it on each other." He started to snicker. "Man, it was so hard not to laugh, we almost blew our cover!" After shoveling down another mouthful, he added, "Man, those were some good times. When we weren't gettin' shot at or chewed out, that is."

Kiros's lips stretched into a bemused grin. "Not like there was any shortage of either."

Laguna took a swig of his drink and nodded in agreement. "Hey, how long are you gonna stick around?"

"Not long," answered Kiros, "I'm going to Timber after this. Any particular reason for asking?"

"Well, the Flower Festival is this week," the gunman began, "I've stepped up my patrols to two or three a day to help clear the town out. Can't have little kids getting munched on their day of fun, right? I was thinking, I could use the extra manpower. Two people taking monsters down means that the area will be cleared twice as fast. Raine can't go on the patrols with me, 'cause she has to take care of Elle and the pub."

Glancing at the small woman, Kiros raised a brow. "Raine?"

"Yeah," Laguna replied, "The army could use a few women like her in the ranks. Make Esthar run for cover." He flashed her a sly smile. Raine tried her best to ignore it.

"Sounds like a capable woman," Kiros remarked, "It makes me wonder why she lets someone like you hang around so much."

Laguna propped an elbow on the table and let his eyes dart about. "Did ya say something?"

"Not at all, commander."

Ellone piped up from her chair, talking around a mouthful of food. "Uncle Laguna's not the commander! Raine is!"

Raine scowled and scolded the little girl, "Ellone! Don't talk with your mouth full!" Blue eyes glared at Laguna. "See? This is what I've been telling you. Monkey see, monkey do. And get your elbows off of the table. Seriously, were you raised in a barn?"

Kiros chortled, "Not quite housebroken, hm?"

"Hey!" Laguna had already obeyed Raine's order when he shot a glare at his old comrade.

Raine threw her hands up in mock exasperation. "He's next to impossible to train! And he _sheds_!"

Laguna gaped at the small woman. "Hey!"

Leaning forward as if Raine were the only other person in the room, Kiros tried to keep a serious face, "I don't think he was ever meant to be indoors."

Laguna's hands gripped the table's surface. "This isn't cool!"

Raine leaned back in her chair. "And he's always out hunting. I should be glad that he doesn't drop his kills at the doorstep or bring them inside."

"This isn't fair!" protested the monster hunter. "That's a public service I do!" When he realized that Ellone was giggling along, he slouched. "Not you too! Aw, c'mon, guys! Gimme a break! I'm not some animal here!"

Snickering, Raine glanced at the distraught soldier. "Well, you are the fox in the henhouse, as far as the town is concerned."

Kiros raised a brow at that. "But I thought foxes were supposed to be clever."

Cutting a hand through the air, Laguna stood up. "That's it. I don't have to take this anymore."

"He does get the town clucking," Raine remarked. "I suppose that counts for something."

As he walked out of the kitchen with the last scraps of his pride, Laguna announced, "I'm goin' on patrol. I'll be back later."

A series of staccato shots punched through a bite bug, leaving the creature to writhe on the paving stones of the town square. Aiming for the next bug, Laguna pulled the trigger. The bug refused to fall and it careened from side to side as it tried to adjust to its injuries. A dark blur surged forward and the familiar double slice finished the monster. Kiros held his blades level over each other and bowed his head to Laguna.

"The faeries are gone," the taller man observed.

"Yeah, too bad." Laguna looked to the sky. "I wish I knew what they were trying to say." His gaze returned to Kiros. "I guess I can't understand faerie."

Kiros sheathed his blades. "They talk to you? They're just a buzzing in my head." When gunman nodded, he added, "You might not want to mention the faeries in your head talking to you in strange tongues, Laguna. At least, not to those who don't already know about them. At best, people might think you were exposed to a chemical weapon. Either way, you could end up in a hospital for treatment."

"Yeah, yeah... I know. It sounds bad when you put it that way. But chemical weapons or insanity don't explain the kind of power we get when the faeries visit." Laguna hooked the thumb of his free hand into a pants pocket. "Raine doesn't believe me about the faeries. She says I should believe in aliens, which are so totally bogus. There are no little blue people from outer space flying around and stealing cows."

Kiros opened his mouth to reply, but decided against it. Instead, he followed Laguna on another patrol. "You took the news about Julia rather well." He peered down at the smaller man. "As long as she's happy?"

Laguna shrugged, while his boots thudded over the bridge. "I knew she got engaged. Read about it in one of Raine's girly magazines. I stopped reading her magazines after that, so I didn't know Julia got married already. It kinda makes me wonder what the hurry was." He scanned the field on the other side of the river, searching for any monsters to clear out.

"I think you were the soldier that was sent away."

"Were you really looking for me all this time?" After Kiros nodded in assent, Laguna's expression became serious. "Why? I mean, really, _why_?"

The lithe bladesman thought he heard a touch of disbelief in his voice and perhaps suspicion. Pursing his lips, Kiros gathered his words. "I want you to come with me to Timber. We could try to make a go of things together." He sighed, and then continued, "Unless you're planning to settle here with Raine, you can't stay here forever." A single breath of pause marked his hesitation. "Are you?"

"No!" Calloused fingers raked through dark hair. "No. I-I can't do that. I mean, I-I could, if R-Raine... But, that's not... I wouldn't mind staying, but... But... I can't do that." Those words left a bad taste in his mouth. They were so flimsy, even he couldn't believe they had any conviction. Besides, if Raine lost Ellone, could he just abandon the woman to a life alone? _'No, she wouldn't be alone. Not really. She has the whole town, right? They'll be there for her. Like Amelia and the three geezers.'_ His free fist clenched in his hair. _'But would she be happy? What if something happened and she needed someone to help her? She has the town and they love her. But if the town was enough, then why am I out here hunting monsters? Raine's tough and capable; she doesn't need me. But...'_

Kiros reached out with a long hand and seized Laguna's shoulder. "You're drifting again, commander. One would think that your trips to Laguna-land are what kept getting us lost."

Pulling away from the grasp, Laguna turned to face Kiros. "Whatever, man! I have a great sense of direction!" He jabbed a thumb against his chest for emphasis.

"Yeah, but you keep following the compass in your pants instead." Kiros gestured widely to the field that they were standing in. Laguna had drifted from the road during his introspection and now they were well into the old chocobo pasture. "Except this time, it's Raine instead of Julia."

"Whatever!" Laguna hefted up his gun to hold it in both hands. "We gotta clear this area of monsters before the festival. It's a strategic point! People will be wide open here before they get to the bridge." He started running towards a Caterchipillar. "C'mon! Let's go!"

As Kiros ran to follow Laguna, he could not quite shake the sinking feeling in his gut. He was hoping that Laguna would follow his lead for once and join him in Timber. Perhaps it was just some misplaced apprehension that he was feeling. After all, he knew that Laguna had no home to call his own. Maybe all Laguna needed was an alternative, something other than the first open door offered to him.

* * *

A/N: I had to fight with myself on whether or not to correct the Engrish "katal" for the correct "katar", regarding Kiros's weapon. But many readers who played the English language version would probably get confused if I did that. Besides, those are some funky looking katars. They're huge and missing the bars that continue down the forearm. Kiros must some awesome wrist strength. Needless to say, katals they stay. 

I also decided not to rewrite the events that were played in the game. It just seemed like a waste of time and effort. I know that not everyone who reads FFVIII fanfic has played the game, but I'm hoping that's the minority.


	17. Bohemian Rhapsody

Standard Disclaimer: FFVIII belongs to Square-Enix, yadda yadda yadda… You know the rest.

* * *

_One Good Shoulder – Chapter Seventeen_

The crisp click of heels across the hard floor beat a marching rhythm. Standing in file at attention, two (former) soldiers and a small girl awaited orders from their commander. The footfalls stopped and a mop handle butted the floor. Raine appraised her mismatched squad with a stern expression on her pale face.

"Tomorrow is the festival," the petite pubkeeper began with a firm voice, doing her best to not giggle or groan from the silliness of it all. How did Laguna put her up to this frivolous pretense? Probably with something along the lines of batting those big green eyes and pouting, or at least something as equally clichéd. Maybe the old men were right in thinking that he charmed her with gypsy magic? She scoffed at the very idea and continued the briefing. "To prepare the facilities for one of the busiest business days of the year, we will initiate Operation Spring Cleaning. Each of you will be given a mission objective." Briefly, she hoped she could keep straight the military jargon that she gleaned from her stray. "The pub has closed early this evening for the express purpose of completing this mission. The Operation must be completed before..." She paused to gather the right phrasing. "Oh-seven-hundred hours tomorrow. Assistant commander Ellone will assist me in preparing the kitchen. Sergeant Loire will clean the dining area of the pub, including floor, windows, and tables. Be sure to treat the tables with wood oil. Corporal Seagil will tend to the front exterior. Windows need to be cleaned and the walkway swept. Also clean off and set up the patio tables and chairs. We'll be having good weather this year, so we can seat people outside. Once your current objective are completed, report back to me for new assignments." She did not realize that she was borrowing a favored phrase of Laguna's until she was halfway through it. "Alright, let's go." The soldiers saluted and Ellone mimicked them to the best of her ability. The squad split apart and began to work on their given tasks.

In the main room of the pub, Laguna plugged in the small radio and searched for a strong signal. Finally, some music that he recognized crackled through and cleared. Pleased with this, he grinned. "Tunes!" With sleeves rolled up, he set to work, starting on the windows. Before long, he was humming along with the songs he knew.

After a while, Ellone skipped out to "help Uncle Laguna" with his task. He gave her a washrag to give the tables an initial wipe down with, while he mopped the floor. To entertain himself and his "niece", he decided to turn the mop into a musical instrument. A few chords on the air guitar here, the chorus of a song he knew by heart playing on the radio there, and plenty of giggles from Ellone to reward him. "I'm just a poor boy, nobody loves me..." He continued with the song on the radio, recalling a long drive to Timber with Kiros and Ward, getting carried away with the moment. As the music crescendoed, so did Laguna. "For me, for _meeeeeeee_!" He hit the high note and slammed into a headbanging session while the guitars on the radio blasted.

Raine and Kiros poked their heads into the main room of the pub and stared at Laguna, who was rocking out to the music, while Ellone giggled hysterically. Laguna stopped and regarded his audience. "What?"

Kiros shook his head. "You have no pride."

Returning to his mopping, Laguna pretended not to hear what was said to him. "Huh? You say something?"

Raine recovered from her gawking. "This is why I didn't let you have the radio earlier."

"Hey! That's not cool!" protested the musical soldier, "My singing isn't _that_ bad!"

Rolling her eyes, Raine retorted, "When you're not squeaking like a violated castrado, it's not."

A broad smile flashed teeth as he struck a triumphant pose. "See! You totally agree!"

Kiros shrugged at Raine. "You can never win against Laguna-logic, which is a contradiction of terms in itself."

Raine sighed and started to return to the kitchen, "Oh, don't I know it."

A little while later, Kiros came in after completing his task outside. Allowing himself a chuckle, he watched Laguna spin a laughing Ellone in a mock dance. "Raine," the dark man called towards the kitchen, "You're missing quite the show."

The pubkeeper stepped behind the bar. "It sounds like it. Why, Ellone! I didn't know you could dance!" This was another one of those moments that Raine wished she had a camera handy.

Ellone was twirling around in circles around Laguna, who was helping her spin. Suddenly, she leaned back in imitation of dancing she saw on the television and Laguna lunged forward to support her before she took a fall. He cringed against a jab of pain from his lower back, and then pulled her back up.

Forcing his cringe into a smile, Laguna spread his arms in his best showman's fashion. "Ta da! Take a bow, Elle!"

Raine snickered and leaned against the bar. "She should curtsey, Laguna, not bow."

"Well, you're gonna have to show her how to do that, 'cause I can't."

Kiros took a seat in one of the many chairs. "Yeah, he would probably get stuck or fall over trying to do something like that."

Laguna gestured with an open palm towards his comrade. "Exactly! That's girl stuff and I'm no good at girl stuff."

"You play with dolls rather well," Kiros pointed out.

"So? You do, too!"

Raine's brows raised and she glanced down to Ellone. "Did Mr. Kiros play dolls with you, too?"

"Yep!" the little girl chirped, "He played with Tifa!"

"Yeah," Laguna chimed in, "He had her be some martial artist chick in a miniskirt and kick monster butt. Man, I wished I had thought of that! But at least my chick has black magic and can blow his chick away before she gets in range."

Kiros leaned forward in his chair, glad that his skin did not color with embarrassment the same way others did. "We are not going to turn this into another katal versus machine gun debate. Besides, the katal would win."

"Tch! Whatever, man. Whatever. You keep dreamin'." A tug and pull on his pantleg brought his attention to Ellone.

"Uncle Laguna! Dance with Raine like on t.v.!"

Laguna stared down at Ellone, and then frantically glanced to Raine. Eyes widened and his jaw came ajar. Shaking his head and waving his hands, he declined the command. "Oh nonononono... No. I-I, uh, I don't dance. Not real dancing. Not like that. Well, I do know a few dances, but, ah, I wouldn't..." Unknowingly, he was shifting from side to side on his feet. "I don't think she knows how to dance the way I know how to dance. I-I'm not sayin' that there's anythin' wrong with that, it's just that, um, I don't think that the girls in Winhill dance like the girls in downtown Deling. Especially on Saturday nights. Late Saturday nights." He could feel the heat rushing to his face at the recollection and the first twinge of a leg cramp building.

Raine crossed her arms and arched an eyebrow. "And how do the Deling girls dance?"

"_Um_..." His voice threatened to squeak on him. "Well... F-fast. And close. Really close."

Shaking his head, Kiros indulged in a quiet, shoulder-shaking snicker. "Even if he managed to start a dance, he can never get through it with that leg of his. Cramps up every time he tries. Like right now."

"It's not cramped up!" Laguna could feel his voice climbing with tension and cringed.

"You're past the point of no return, commander," Kiros pointed out, "It's going to cramp any second now and you'll be limping around doing the Gimpy 'Guna Shuffle, as Ward put it."

Laguna grunted and jerked down as the infamous cramp seized him. _'And people say I'm a weenie. I'd like to see them to put up with this kind of pain on a regular basis.'_ Forcing himself to breathe and not clench his teeth, he rubbed at the knotted, twisted muscle. As always, the breathing instead of clenching teeth part was a challenge. The last thing he wanted was to pass out because he forgot to inhale. _'Yep, that would be real manly. Oh dear god, make it stop!'_

Raine stepped away from the bar and tossed her drying towel onto the shining surface. "You mean you don't know any proper dances?" She caught her own words and let a grin slip onto her lips. Laguna and "proper" were mismatched concepts. "I suppose not."

"Well, it's not like anyone ever taught me." Laguna managed to straighten up again, while taking deep breaths.

Placing her hands on her hips, she shook her head. "Well, don't be teaching her any of your downtown Deling antics. The last thing I want is an earful for letting a little girl learn how to move like a cheap hussy."

Ellone's voice piped up. "What's a hussy?"

Raine's lips parted as her jaw slackened. Instantly, her countenance firmed and she jabbed a finger towards a smirking Laguna. "Don't you say a word," she warned him. His grin stretched and his shoulders began to shake with laughter. To Ellone, the pubkeeper replied, "Never mind that, Ellone. It's not important."

Laguna crossed his arms with mock indignation. "Hey! And you called me avoidant?"

From his seat, Kiros propped an elbow on the nearby table and flashed white teeth. "Shall I tell her?"

Now that blue glare leveled onto the dark man. "Don't you dare!"

Limping a step back, Laguna remarked to his comrade in arms, "Ooh... I think she's serious, man." The song on the radio changed to one with beat that Laguna liked and he started to move with it, despite his limp. "Aw, c'mon, Raine! Lighten up! How 'bout I show you a little bit of Deling? It's not, like, evil or anything, no matter what the old farts say. Just loosen up and, you know, move, and have fun! It's all cool! It's not like anyone in town's gonna see."

Raine gawked at Laguna's dancing, while Kiros chortled into his forearm. After a quick gasp for air, the lithe bladesman managed to blurt, "Look out, Laguna's breaking out the disco moves!"

Laguna struck a pose, giving his lame leg a little respite. "Oh yeah! It's the gypsy funk, man! C'mon, Raine! Get your groove on!" His shoulders and hips loosened again and he continued his dance.

"Careful, Raine," Kiros warned, "The last time Laguna got like this, he tripped and wiped out a half dozen people on the dance floor, sparking a brawl, and getting us kicked out."

Laguna spread his palms in defense. "Hey! That was an accident! I didn't mean to grab that skirt! I was just trying to catch myself on the way down!"

Raine was caught wide-eyed for a moment before she burst into laughter, as her imagination provided the imagery. After the short explosion of mirth, she calmed and remarked, "Oh, you would get yourself into that kind of situation, wouldn't you?" She picked up the towel on the bar and started to return to the kitchen. "I think I'll pass on the dancing. We still have plenty of work to do."

Laguna sighed and picked up the bottle of wood polish he had set aside. "Sure thing, but you're gonna have some fun tomorrow, all right? All work and no play just isn't cool."

It was well past sunset by the time the adults were done with the pub. After eating a simple meal, they retreated to the comfort of the loft. Ellone was already curled up in Raine's favored chair with her plush moogle and green blanket. Laguna sank into the couch with a groan and spread his arms over the blanket-covered back. Raine turned on the television before sitting next to him. Kiros sat cross-legged on the floor. Flipping through the few broadcast channels that Winhill received, Raine found a movie. She had seen it several times before, since it was traditionally aired during this time of year, but it was more Ellone-friendly than the other programs that were on the airwaves.

Halfway through the show, Laguna blinked bleary eyes and looked at each of his companions. Ellone was asleep in the chair, cuddling her stuffed toy. Kiros looked to be in meditation, though Laguna had always though that meditation was just a word that meant napping sitting up. Raine's head lolled to one side, coming to rest against Laguna's blue clad shoulder. Her eyes were closed and her breath was even and slow. Was she asleep? Yes, she was. _'Didn't even make through the movie. Well, tomorrow's a big day.'_ His arm tensed in preparation to wake her. _'Nah, let her sleep for a little while longer. She'll probably wake herself up before the show's done anyways.'_ Instead, he brushed some of her brown hair back. _'I'll put Elle to bed after that. I should get some sleep too. Kiros is already out, no matter what he says about meditating. I've caught him snoring, sitting up like that. Bet if I pushed him now, he would topple over.'_ He settled deeper into the couch and relaxed. _'This is kinda nice... All of us together. We just need Ward now. Raine and Elle would like him. He's a little rough, but no worse than me.'_ Laguna yawned and the deep movement from his chest stirred Raine. Remaining asleep, she shifted her cheek into the crook of his shoulder. _'That comfy, huh? And you said you didn't like this jacket. Waittasec... Are you drooling? Oh man, you are. I could so give you crap about that in return for all your complaining about my snoring. Well, at least it's on my jacket and not my shirt. I would have to wake you up if it was soaking me to the skin, 'cause that gets cold and kinda gross.'_ He tried not to squirm in his seat. _'And you're making this one side get hot. You know, Raine, I need another girl on the other side to even things out.'_

Raine awoke to a loud sawing noise next to her ear. She became aware of a weight on top of her head. Eyes opening, she saw blue fabric and black hair in the dim light. On the television, a tired infomercial was playing, providing the only light in the room. She could feel the weight of Laguna's warm arm draped over her shoulder. Shifting, she pulled her head off of his shoulder and wiped at her face. Only then did she notice the fading dark spot on his jacket. "Lovely." Laguna grunted and shifted on the couch, but did not wake. Raine surveyed the room, trying to determine how long she slept. Kiros was gone and Ellone was no longer in the chair. Pushing off of the couch, she crept to Ellone's bed, where the little girl was sound asleep.

The sound of shuffling behind her caught her attention, followed by the sound of some furniture being kicked and the stagger of boots. Laguna's incoherent grunts told her that he was conscious and up, but not quite awake. Moving easily along memorized routes in the dark, she intercepted the foundering soldier. "Go to bed, Laguna." He muttered hazy acknowledgement and thumped down the stairs. Raine wondered if he would be able to make it all the way to his bed in the house next door on his own, but she was too tired to escort him.

After shutting off the television and making her way to her own bed, she changed into her nightclothes. Blurred vision reading her alarm clock managed to tell her that it was partway into the two 'o clock hour. Stretching out under her cool covers, Raine gave herself up to sleep once more.


	18. Festival

Standard Disclaimer: FFVIII belongs to Square-Enix, yadda yadda yadda… You know the rest.

* * *

_One Good Shoulder – Chapter Eighteen_

Ellone latched onto Laguna's rough hand and dragged him out of the pub. The flower wreath on her head jostled with her bouncing steps, listing to one side. "C'mon, Uncle Laguna! C'mon!"

Laguna staggered along and wished that the little girl let him finish his coffee first. Ellone awoke him shortly after sunrise and refused to let him sleep any further. He soon discovered that she had given the same treatment to Raine. Yawning, Laguna let himself be lead to the small crowd that gathered along the main street. Behind him, Kiros stretched as he walked and Raine closed the pub door behind her before joining them. The pubkeeper had a large white flower tucked into her hairband.

Blinking blearily under the morning sun, Laguna eyed the crowd. "Looks like the whole town an' half the countryside showed up for this parade."

Kiros gave a short wave to some staring residents. Leaning closer to Laguna, he replied, "Though, I have to wonder how much of a parade it will be."

Latching onto Ellone before she could run too far, Raine spoke over her shoulder. "It doesn't matter how big the parade is, as long as everyone enjoys it. This is a day for everyone to be happy."

Laguna smiled warmly, "I like that." He set his chin on top of her head and half-closed his eyes. "You know, you're just the right height for a headrest."

Raine tried to shake him off, but he returned to rest on her crown. "Laguna..." She could feel his laughter bouncing against her scalp.

The quiet laughter suddenly stopped when Kiros crossed his arms and placed them on top of Laguna's head. "The same could be said for yourself."

"You need to stretch to do it," Laguna pointed out while he broke away, "You're not Ward. He would have us both beat."

"Uncle Laguna is taller than Raine and Mr. Kiros is taller than Uncle Laguna!" Ellone's giggles bubbled over into a squeal as Laguna picked her up and hoisted her onto his shoulders.

"Now Elle is taller than everyone!" announced Laguna.

Many people were waiting for a parade to begin the festival. Along the road and through the town square, people were lined up. Booths and tents for various vendors were behind them, patiently waiting for business. Craftsmen and artists put the finishing touches on their displays, while some game booths beckoned to the youthful. The scents of cooking sausages, fried foods, and sweets drifted through the air.

Cheers erupted from the other end of town as flower festooned chocobo-drawn carts and carriages moved along the parade route. Local musicians marched with the procession, earnestly blasting their joyful tunes to make up for their small number. The few officials that the town had were the first to go by, followed by representatives of prominent local families and their businesses. Raine yelled out a few names and waved, adding her own noise to the din. Finally, the carriage carrying the Flower Court passed with three of the village girls dressed up royally within it.

Raine grinned to Laguna, "Princesses for a day. I hope Ellone has a chance for this when she is older."

"I have a feeling that Ellone is a princess every day with Laguna around," Kiros remarked from behind the smaller soldier.

"Hey! I don't spoil her!" blurted Laguna. When Raine scrutinized him, he added, "Much." He squirmed under her stare. "What? It's not like I give her everything she wants, no questions asked."

Raine rolled her eyes again and shook her head. "Only because you don't have the means to do so."

After the parade, the festival officially started and a throng of people descended upon the town square. The parade musicians took up residence on the mansion steps and continued to play. Raine led her group past the assortment of booths and tents, wistfully appreciating some of the craftsmanship of their goods. Paintings here, pewterwork there, wreathes and arrangements of flowers everywhere. Pausing in front of a booth selling handmade soaps, she looked over the many scented bars.

Laguna, with Ellone still perched on his shoulders, detoured to a game booth that the girl pointed to. This one consisted of a large wheelbarrow filled with glass canning jars. Each of these jars was mostly filled with water. Some of those jars had a goldfish swimming inside, while a few others contained a ball of either a red, blue, or green color.

"Is this where you got your goldfish last year?" he asked Ellone. When she affirmed it, he lowered her to the ground and approached the game attendant.

"Just stand behind this line and toss a ball into a jar," the attendant explained, "If it lands into a jar with a fish, you get the fish. If it lands into a jar with a colored ball, you get a different prize." He gestured to the various toys on display in three tiers. "If you get a jar with just water, then try again. One gil for a ball."

Laguna handed the attendant five gil, and then gave one of the small plastic balls to Ellone. "Now's your chance! Give it your best, Elle!"

Ellone threw the little white ball and it bounced off of the rim of a jar, flying out the wheelbarrow and landing on the ground. The attendant picked up the ball and handed it back to Ellone. "Try again," he said with a smile.

She threw the ball again, this time landing it in a jar with only water. The ball bobbed and floated on the surface. Laguna tousled Ellone's hair and handed her another ball. "Too bad, but you'll get it next time!" Again, she threw a little ball and again it plinked into a jar of only water. Laguna crossed his arms and thought for a moment. "You know what you need, Elle? You need a boost!" He picked her up and placed her on his shoulders again. Giving her another ball, he told her, "Try it from here." This time, Ellone's ball landed in a fish jar, spooking the orange and white fish within it. Laguna jumped into the air in victory, bouncing the cheering girl. The attendant transferred the fish and water to a plastic bag and closed it, before awarding it to her.

Raine clapped her hands behind them. "Good job, Elle!" She accepted the bagged fish on Ellone's behalf, since Laguna was busy handing Ellone another ball.

"Now my fish won't be lonely anymore!" Ellone announced proudly. The next ball landed in nothing but water. When Laguna offered her the last ball, Ellone shook her head. "You try it, Uncle Laguna!"

"You sure?" When Ellone assented, he shrugged and tossed the last ball. It bounced off of the rim on one jar and splashed into another jar with a red ball.

"Pick a prize from the top level," the attendant instructed.

Laguna spoke to the girl on his shoulders, trying to ignore the restless foot kicking against his chest. "What do you want?" Ellone mused over the toys, but did not give a quick reply. After a few moments, Laguna suggested, "How about that stuffed lion? Then your moogle will have a friend too." When Ellone agreed, the attendant handed her the soft toy.

Raine held out the baggie with the fish, "Shall we take him to his new home?"

In the loft of the pub, Ellone was plastered to the fishbowl as Raine put the new fish into the water. "I'll be opening the pub soon," Raine remarked, "I can't possibly waste such a good day of business. Laguna, if you want to run around with Ellone for a little while, that's fine. I won't need you for a few hours."

Laguna nodded and smiled to Ellone, "We'll have lots of fun! Ain't that right, Elle?"

"I can help in the kitchen for a while, Raine," Kiros offered, "You don't need to run everything by yourself."

Waving away the offer, Raine replied, "You should get out too. Besides, someone needs to make sure that Laguna doesn't get in trouble."

"Hey!" Blue-clad shoulders drooped, "Aw, thanks for the vote of confidence, commander." Laguna straightened his posture and spread his hands. "Besides, how much trouble can I get into escorting Elle around town? It's not like this is much of a festival. I've seen two-bit carnivals bigger than this."

Kiros and Raine exchanged glances. Jangling the ends of his braids with a sudden turn towards the gunner, the bladesman dryly decided, "I'll keep an eye on Laguna."

"Please." Shooing the others towards the door, Raine ushered away her flock. "Now, go have some fun... And leave the town in one piece while you're at it."

"Man, you guys make me sound like some kind of monster," muttered Laguna. Putting a lumbering stiffness in his step, he raked knarled hands through the air. "Raaaaagh! Laguna SMASH! C'mon, Ellzilla, we got a town to trample." Ellone mimicked his monster walk, giggling and growling all the way.

Outside, Laguna leaned towards the girl, bracing his hands against his knees. "So, what do you wanna do?"

Ellone thought about this for a moment, and then brightened. "I wanna ride a chocobo!"

Straightening to upright, Laguna crossed his arms. "You sure? Chocobos can be pretty big."

"Yeah!" She hopped up and down in excitement, dislodging her wreathe. "Chocobo ride! Chocobo ride!" Noticing that her crown of flowers was gone, she found it and put it back on her head askew.

Across the bridge, there were several docile chocobos on leadropes pacing in a circle. Despite the squealing and yelping children riding them, they kept an even, easy gait. When it came time for Ellone's turn, the handler lowered the chocobo to a crouch and helped her mount the giant bird. The little girl clutched the saddle tightly as the chocobo rose on her feet. Halfway through the ride, Ellone began to cry. "Uncle Laguna! I want down!"

Laguna hopped over the flagged rope that marked the perimeter of the chocobo run and kept pace with Ellone's bird. "Are you scared, Elle?"

Ellone nodded. "It's too high! I want down!" Before Laguna could try to offer her some words of encouragement, she lunged out of the saddle towards him. Catching her, he staggered back a few steps, snaring the border rope with the back of his leg. With a grunt of alarm, he fell over the rope, but expected hard contact with the ground never came.

Kiros's face hovered above him. "It's a good thing I know you as well as I do." The lithe man pushed Laguna back to upright. Letting go of the blue jacket, he added, "I don't think Raine wants the added burden of tending to your injuries today."

"I don't think so, either," Laguna replied, "Thanks, man." He put Ellone down on the ground on the outer side of the border rope and stepped over the perimeter himself. Kneeling down in front of the girl, he tousled her hair and sent her wreath even more awry. "How about we go get some lunch?"

Later in the evening, Kiros brought in more dishes and glasses for Laguna to wash. Beyond the kitchen, both men could hear the bustling business in the pub. "The outside seating suddenly became popular," Kiros remarked, "I heard that there's going to be a fireworks show after dusk."

"Really?" Laguna eyed the regenerating pile of dirty dishes next to him. "I wonder if Raine's gonna take the time to watch."

"I doubt it. Not when her cash register is as active as it is today."

"Man..."

Raine poked her head into the kitchen. "Laguna, would you take Ellone out to watch the fireworks? She won't stop pestering me about it."

Laguna dried his hands and approached Raine. "Aw, c'mon, Raine. You already missed the chocobo racing! Enjoy the festival a little!"

"I did this morning. Now I need to work, so I can feed everyone that stays under this roof."

"Me and Kiros can handle things for a few minutes. Really! How many drinks are you gonna sell during the show, anyways? People are gonna wanna get refills before and after, right? I know I wouldn't wanna get up in the middle of the show, just 'cause I hit empty."

Tilting her head and crossing her arms, Raine did her best not to smile. "Laguna, are you actually trying to use _reason_ to convince me to see the fireworks?"

Bobbing his head, he replied, "Yeah. Is it working? C'mon, you've been stuck in here for most of the day. That's not cool! Isn't there some kind of law or something against working this long without a break? You know, like on the safety and health posters that are always kinda dingy and falling off of breakroom walls?"

"That doesn't apply here. I'm the owner, not an employee. Nice try, though." She sighed and relaxed herself. "Besides, missing a fireworks show won't mean that much to me. I can always go out and have fun with Ellone when there isn't a crowd in town."

Suddenly, Laguna's eyes brightened with boyish glee and Raine tensed. _'Oh dear god, what did he just think of now?_'

"Hey! That's right!" Laguna started to pace from one end of the kitchen to the other. "Yeah! We can make our own fireworks show! It's not that hard!"

Raine saw Kiros's expression mixed between cringe and alarm, and then realized that she was sharing it. While she knew that Laguna possessed nothing but good intentions, she couldn't quite shake the premonition of glitter and grenades. Now that he was talking himself down the path to explosion, there was only one way she could thwart him and possibly save the town. "Laguna, get out there and man that bar. I'm going to take Ellone to the show."

"But...!"

She held out a warning finger. "That bar better be in the same shape I left it in, or you'll have hell to pay. Whatever discipline the army put you through will be nothing compared it."

"So, no Zen garden in front of the commander's tent?" was his blithe reply.

"What?" Raine stared as a chortling Kiros choked on a snort, tried to recover his cool composure, and failed. That remark was obviously about another shared experience between the two soldiers. While she wanted to know the story behind it, there wasn't time for another Laguna ramble.

When Raine left the kitchen, Laguna crossed him arms and struck a triumphant pose. "How was that?" he quipped to his comrade-in-arms.

Shaking his head, Kiros gathered himself. "You know, I'm surprised you haven't tried to recreate the Zen garden out here."

"It wouldn't work. There's no sand to rake here. Man, Kashkabald sucked. Sun, sand, scorpions..."

"Don't ever mention scorpions again."

"Sorry. We didn't know you were _that_ scared of 'em."

"For what you and Ward pulled, you're lucky I didn't slice _you_ in two, instead of the scorpion."

Laguna spread his hands in defense. "But it was a fake! Though, it was worth hearing you squeal like a little girl. For once, I wasn't the one who lost points on the manliness scale."

Raine reappeared in the room. "I've changed my mind," she announced. Before Laguna could protest, she added, "I'm just going to shut the pub down earlier than I thought I would tonight. No extended hours."

In the dim of twilight, the rhythmic jangling of dogtags and the firm grasp of Laguna's hand on hers were the only things keeping her from losing her way. Ellone held onto his other hand, while Kiros followed behind. "We're almost there," Laguna told them, "This will be the perfect spot to watch. It's high up and far enough away that loud sounds won't scare Elle."

"But far enough away from the lights and crowd in town that the monsters might take interest," Raine noted, "Now I understand why you decided to bring the gun."

"Yeah. Even with the gun, if it was just me with you and Elle, I wouldn't bring you out this far. But Kiros is here to back me up, so it's okay."

Under the first twinkling stars of the night and with the rising moon behind them, they settled down on a grassy hilltop. A cool breeze flowed in from the west. Ellone huddled between Laguna and Raine with her pale pink jacket clutched closed underneath her green blanket. A whistle and bang sounded, followed by a flowering of red and blue sparks in the dark sky. Many more explosions of color followed, drawing gasps of excitement from Ellone.

Raine shivered as the breeze picked up. Clutching her knees to her chest, she was beginning to wish that she had brought along a jacket herself, instead of settling on her sweater. Still, she tried to ignore it and enjoy the show. It never ceased to amaze her on how such a small town could always manage to procure enough fireworks every year to put on a show like this. Then again, knowing the townsfolk, it didn't. There wasn't much else in the way of entertainment in these parts. Her reverie was broken by warmth enveloping her shoulders. The weight of the blue jacket and its metal accessories alone could tell her what brought the momentarily welcomed sensation. "Laguna, I don't need this."

"Aw, don't worry 'bout it. If you curl up much tighter, you might disappear."

She began to shrug off the jacket to hand it back to him. "But you just have a t-shirt on. You need this more than me."

He clamped a hand down on her shoulder, pinning the jacket in place. "Nah, I'll be fine. I'm not that much of a weenie."

"And I am?"

He stuttered for a moment before regaining control of his mouth. "I wasn't saying that! Man, Raine, you're really cramping my "officer and a gentleman" thing here, you know."

Raine glanced askance at him. "Since when were you ever an officer or a gentleman?"

"Hey!" Laguna protested.

Ellone brought her finger to her lips and glared at both adults. "Shhhh! I'm trying to watch!"

Kiros smirked behind them. "You certainly got told."

"Shhh, Mr. Kiros!" admonished Ellone.

Kiros could almost hear the unspoken words in Laguna's wry grin towards him. _'Who got told off now?'_

The fireworks show climaxed, building up to its finale. After the last burst of color and fire faded from the sky, Holding Laguna's jacket closed around her shoulders, Raine stood and led the way down the hill. Laguna, with machine gun hanging from its shoulder strap, carried Ellone. The huge moon was over the horizon now, casting long shadows across the ground. At the doorway to the pub, Raine returned the short jacket to its owner. "Thanks. I can take care of things from here."

Accepting his warmed jacket with one hand while still holding Elle with his other arm, Laguna spoke. "You sure you don't want me to help clean up? I know you don't like leaving that stuff 'til morning. Not that I blame you. Man, when some of that stuff sits, it turns to cement and it's a pain to scrub off. I really don't look forward to it. I'd rather be kickin' some monster butt."

Raine walked into pub, letting the men follow after her. "Are you sure you want to clean up? I would think you would be tired after a day running around with Ellone."

"Nah, I still got tons of energy. How about you an' Kiros get started and I'll get Elle tucked in?" After climbing the stairs, Laguna put Ellone to bed and shrugged on his jacket. "G'night, Elle."

A sleepily mumbled, "G'night, Uncle Laguna," was her reply.

Approaching the kitchen, he could hear Kiros speaking. "...chief editor. Laguna's wanted to write about world travel and he's interested in any article about it. I thought that this would be a good opportunity for him to start his journalism career."

Seeing Laguna in the doorway, Raine crossed her arms. "What are you still doing here?"

"Uh, I'm gonna help clean up?"

"I mean, what are you still doing in Winhill? Why haven't you gone to Timber yet?"

"I'm going to! I just wanted to wait until after the festival." After setting his gun on the table, Laguna ambled to the sink and picked up where he left off. "Timber's not going to go anywhere. Well, not unless Vinzer decides to blow the place to smithereens. In that case, there won't be any Timber Maniacs to work for, anyways."

Raine began the cleaned dishes away, so that Laguna would have a place to put the wet ones. "So, when will you be leaving?"

"I dunno. Probably a couple days. I'll need a day to get supplies for the trip. Right, Kiros?"

Nodding, Kiros replied, "Sounds reasonable."

"Man, Elle's not gonna like hearing about this."

Raine grabbed a fresh cloth to clean the bar with. "She'll deal with it. You can't put your life on hold on her account, Laguna. Kiros, would you help me with the tables?"

With the kitchen empty of people, save for the Laguna, the former soldier was left to distract himself with work. Why did he have such apprehension about leaving the village? He could always come back to visit, he told himself. Ellone would be angry with him for leaving, he was certain of it. Maybe if he assured her that it would just be for a little while and that he would bring something back for her? That might help. What about Raine? Raine could take care of herself and Elle, he reminded himself yet again. She did so well before he ever came to the town and she would still be able to do it well after he left. _'I let myself get too comfortable here. Not cool, man. Not cool. But I'll get over it, right?'_


	19. J Disaster

Standard Disclaimer: FFVIII belongs to Square-Enix, yadda yadda yadda… You know the rest.

* * *

_One Good Shoulder - Chapter Nineteen_

Kiros stretched in the main room of the house next door to the pub. There was a long day ahead of him and Laguna. The trip to Timber was not going to be easy, especially without the aid of a car. Rolling his shoulders, he felt them start to loosen up. A shuffling sound from one of the cupboards caught his attention. Freezing in place, he listened carefully to it. Whatever it was, it sounded much larger than a mouse. Cautiously drawing one katal, he crept towards the source of the sound. Throwing open the cupboard door, he stepped back in surprise. "Ellone! What are you doing in there?"

The little girl glared angrily at him with puffy red eyes. "You're taking Uncle Laguna away," she accused.

Sheathing the katal, Kiros felt his jaw slacken. "What?" Before he could explain, a yelp from upstairs sounded. Running into the small bedroom, he found Laguna holding out a boot and staring at a red-stained sock. "What happened?"

Laguna poked at the smear on the bottom of his foot. "There was something in my boot!" Whatever it was, it was sticky and smelled a little fruity. Was it strawberries? At least it wasn't blood, like he first thought. All of the horror stories he had heard during his time in the army about rotting feet flooded his mind. Strawberries never played into any them, though, which was a relief.

Kiros inspected the unknown substance, fighting the urge to poke at it. "Is that... jam?"

With her hands planted on her hips, Ellone spoke curtly from the doorway. "You can't go outside without your shoes, Uncle Laguna."

"Elle..." Laguna's throat caught and he swallowed hard, tyring to ignore the stinging in his eyes.

Kiros glanced between the two and edged away. "I'll go get Raine."

When Raine came up the stairway and entered the room, she found Laguna clutching a bawling Ellone. One small fist beat at his shoulder, while an incoherent burble of choked words hiccuped from the girl's mouth into the crook of his neck. The puny bed creaked under Raine's additional weight as she sat down next to them. Running her slender fingers through the little girl's short, tousled brown hair, she murmured words of comfort to her charge. Ellone reached out with the hand that was previously pounding Laguna and latched onto Raine's sweater. Eventually, she managed to get her sobs under control enough to speak coherently. "We're supposed to stay together!"

Sea met sky as eyes locked on each other with the same pained expression. Why wouldn't she understand? Why did it have to be so difficult? Breaking the gaze, Raine looked down at Ellone and sighed. "Ellone, we talked about this last night. Laguna has to go to Timber to work and get money of his own."

"Yeah, Elle," Laguna agreed, "If I don't get any money, how can I buy you a present?"

Shaking her head, Ellone clutched tighter onto the damp white fabric of Laguna's abused shirt. "I don't want a present! I want you to stay here!"

Now it was Laguna's turn to sigh. He was running out of ideas to convince her to let him leave. He really did not want to force himself away. Just turning his back and walking away did not feel right. He was certain that Ellone would hate him for that. Though, it was beginning to seem like she was going to hate him for leaving, no matter the circumstances. _'She's afraid that I'll never come back. Not that I can blame her. The chance is there, after all. Something could happen to me out there. She could be taken away before I ever do come back. How would I find her then? Would I be allowed to see her? Yeah, I bet some picket-fence couple would_ love _to have a guy like me show up at their doorstep and ask to see their new daughter. Oh man, that wouldn't be cool. This could be the last time we see each other and we both know it. There's no way around that.'_ He held her tighter, trying to push away the wave of anxiety that crashed down on him. Once it subsided enough, he pulled her away. "Hey, Elle, wanna go get some breakfast? I hope you didn't use up all of the jam in my boot. That would be, like, way uncool. Think of the toast! Not having jam with toast would be like not having syrup on pancakes! It's just not done!" He flailed his arms out. "It's a breakfast disaster! Elle, we gotta do something!" Hopping to his feet, he leaned towards her as if this was a matter of life and death. "Quick, do you know where the rest of the jam is?" Ellone thought about this for a moment, and then nodded. Laguna pumped his fist into the air. "Great! We can still save the toast! You'll have to go ahead of me, assistant commander. We can't let the monsters get to the toast. They'll eat it all up! I'll get my shoes on and follow you as soon as I can."

Raine stood up and crossed her arms. "If this mission is that important, then the commander will have to accompany the assistant commander, in case she needs backup. Let's go, Ellone!"

Laguna gave the both of them a sharp salute as they left the room. When the door downstairs creaked, he slumped down onto the bed. Kiros leaned against the doorframe. "How long do you think that distraction will last?"

"Not long enough." Peering into a boot, Laguna wrinkled his nose. "Man, this is gonna be nasty."

Kiros raised an eyebrow. "The boot or getting out of here?"

"I'll have to ask Raine about how to clean this jam out. I'll probably have to leave the sticky sock here, too." Picking up his boots, he faced Kiros. "We better get some chow. We got a long march today."

Breakfast was quiet as a sullen Ellone refused to speak to anyone at the table. Laguna tried to fill the room with smalltalk, but even that failed. Meanwhile, Raine cleaned out the jammed boots as best as she could. As she worked, she sighed and shook her head periodically. She could not even muster up a solid scolding to Ellone for such a mess. Her gaze flicked towards Laguna and she tried to burn the image of him sitting at her table into her memory, as if she could keep it as clear as a photograph in her mind. Reading Laguna's emotions was like reading the headlines of a newspaper. His eyes had that faraway look in them now, which meant that he was thinking about something deep. Well, deep for Laguna. He was likely having a conversation with himself, Raine mused. At least he was managing to keep the audio of the soliloqy muted. That in itself told her that whatever he was mulling was something of a sensitive nature for him. It was going to be so much quieter in the pub with him gone.

"Too bad that the telephone service hasn't been restored yet," Raine remarked, "Then you could tell us if you got the job sooner."

"Yeah," he replied idly. A moment later, a spark in his eye and a grin on his lips brightened his expression. "And maybe I could read a story to Ellone from Timber! Wouldn't that be great? Man, I never thought I would miss something like a phone so much. Winhill's back country, but you wouldn't think it was so far out that no one would bother repairing the phone lines. Man, if I knew how to do it, I would do it myself and stop waiting for the whoever's in charge of the lines to do it for us. Hey! Maybe if someone made a phone that didn't need the lines? Like a radio-type thing? That would be so cool! Yeah, and then we wouldn't have to worry about monsters tearing up the lines and cutting off service to an entire town. But it would have to keep the conversations a little more private than normal radio communications. 'Cause, heh, that could get kinda embarassin' if you were tryin' to have a private talk with someone and all someone had to do to listen in was find the right frequency."

Raine shook her head again. Laguna certainly seemed to enjoy his wild ideas. "And how would you manage that?"

"I dunno, but I bet someone could figure it out." Laguna smiled at Ellone, "Wouldn't that be cool?" The little girl made a point of ignoring him and continued to poke at her food. Laguna's smile fell and he shifted uncomfortably in his seat, softly clearing his throat.

Kiros pushed his empty plate away. "Laguna, we should leave soon. I don't want to camp out in the middle of nowhere if I don't have to."

Staring down at his own plate, Laguna nodded. "Yeah, I guess so."

Raine held out the cleaned boots. "Here. I did the best I could on them."

With boots on and rucksack slung over his shoulder, Laguna lead the way to the pub door. Behind him, Ellone raced up the stairway to the loft. He heard the stomping steps and turned to follow her. Maybe he could still say something to her that would let him leave without her being angry at him? Raine's hand pressed against his chest, stopping him.

"She'll get over it," she told him, "You're wasting daylight." Kiros passed by the both of them to walk outside. Raine's brows furrowed. The pub was already starting to feel empty. "You take care of yourself."

Laguna summoned a smile for her. "Don't worry. I'm always cool." His tone became more serious. "You take care of yourself, too." He pulled her into an impulsive embrace. "Thanks for everything." Breaking away, he stepped across the pub's threshhold. With one last awkward wave of goodbye, he turned to join Kiros on the road.

At the edge of town, Laguna paused to look back at the sleepy little town that he had called home for the past year. Kiros crossed his arms and waited. "You'll feel better with some distance behind us. You can't be missing this place already."

"Huh? Nah." Crunching gravel and dirt under his boots, Laguna marched along the road to Timber. "C'mon, man. Let's go."

* * *

A/N: I had to squeeze the "J-Disaster" in there. Had to. 


	20. Accidently

Standard Disclaimer: FFVIII belongs to Square-Enix, yadda yadda yadda… You know the rest.

* * *

_One Good Shoulder – Chapter Twenty_

Raine gasped and shut off the tap with a quick jerk. Setting aside the overfull beer glass, she reached for a towel to clean off her hand. Sighing, she scowled at the glass, as if it was its fault for spilling over. Such sloppiness was status quo for Laguna, but it was uncharacteristic for Raine and she was beginning to wonder if she was sick. That wasn't the first time that day that her fine control slipped. She hoped that she found all of shards of ceramic from the dropped plate in the kitchen. It had been years since she last broke a dish and even longer since she let a glass overflow. Wiping off the outside of the glass, she carefully slid it towards one of her regulars.

Phil accepted it with a knarled and scarred hand, but his drooping eyes were focused on the petite woman on the other side of the bar. "Somethin' on your mind, Raine?"

The pubkeeper tore herself away from wiping away the ring left by the glass. "No."

Joe raised his bushy brows. "I'll bet she's thinkin' 'bout some wanderer."

Raine frowned, "He's not a wanderer. He traveled because he was a soldier. It was part of his job. And he's not wandering now. He's in Timber to get a job as a journalist."

"It's a good thing he's finally gone," Ed remarked, "Now things can get back to normal."

Clenching her jaw, Raine polished the unoccupied parts of the bar. Now that Laguna was gone, they would change the story of his stay in Winhill until it satisfied them. Who would the townsfolk make him into? A wanderer that flitted in and out of the village, raising havoc during his short stay? A gypsy that tried to bewitch the women until he grew bored with their resistance and left? Tossing aside the rag, she ducked into the kitchen and checked on the simmering soup.

Dancing between kitchen and bar was something she found herself having to get used to again. The extra set of hands that Laguna provided proved to a great relief to her. She couldn't allow her diligence to slip now. The scorched bottom of her soup pot was proof of that. _'I managed without him just fine before,_' Raine scolded herself, _'I should be doing just fine now. I shouldn't be so distracted._'

A car's horn blared and Kiros yanked Laguna out of the way by the collar of his coat. "Laguna! That's the fourth time!"

Oblivious to the streets of Timber, Laguna stared at his comrade. "What?"

Brown eyes widened as Kiros gawked in disbelief. Maybe Laguna was onto something with his guardian faeries, since Kiros could not find any other explanation for his continued survival. "You almost got hit by a car! _Again!_" The dark man gestured wildly at the passing traffic. Struggling to regain his traditional composure, he took a deep, meditative breath. Laguna was more distracted than usual since they left Winhill. The only time he seemed to have any focus at all was when there was a monster to be slain. _'The pants compass is going to get us both killed. Him by traffic and me by heart attack._' "You aren't paying attention to anything, are you?"

Shoulder-length hair flipped with a jerk of Laguna's head. "Tch! Of course I'm paying attention. How do you think I spotted that bunny?" Laguna pointed at a shop window across the street. "Look at that bunny! Elle would love that!"

Kiros clenched his teeth. "That wasn't what I meant." Shrugging off his frustration, he added, "The boarding house is down that side street."

Laguna followed Kiros's gaze as they turned away from the main avenue. "Man, too bad we're not soldiers anymore, then we could crash at the Timber Hotel. I could use the hotel stationary and write Elle and Raine a letter!"

Sidestepping a tipped trash can, Kiros pointed out, "If we were still in the army, we would probably be out on patrol in Centra again and sleeping in a tent."

"I guess so."

Amelia leaned over the bartop and raised a brow at Raine. "You guess so? Of course it's much better without Laguna around. Look, Elle will get over him leaving and everything will be like it was before."

Raine's expression flattened. Several different replies battled against each other in her mind. _'No, it won't be like it was before Laguna. What if I don't want things like they were before Laguna?'_ Instead of opening her mouth, she remained silent and turned her focus to her work.

Crossing her arms, Amelia pulled away from the bar. "Would you stop brooding? Your cloud of gloom is filling the room. You're going to drive away customers."

"Customers?" Raine flung an arm out, sweeping it in a wide arc. "What customers? Now that the festival is over, we're back to being a sputtering, dying village." At that moment, she expected to hear a cheery reply from the kitchen meant to reassure her and a farfetched suggestion to solve the problem at hand. When it never came, Raine steeled herself against the tightness building in her throat. Nobody else talked about ways to help the town prosper. It was almost as if the residents were content to fade away. The thought of such complacency burned her. _'Laguna... He was _alive_. Everything else would come alive around him, even if it were just to yell at him. I don't to want let everything fall asleep again.'_ Glass bottles clinked as she wordlessly arranged them on the shelves in a fit of organization.

She heard the door open and she snapped around to see who entered her pub, her stance straightening with instinctive hope. One of her regular patrons ambled in and picked up a jacket that he left behind earlier. Raine scowled and returned to sorting the bottles. Waving, the regular darted back out of the building.

Amelia crossed her arms. "You did that when I came in, too. You shouldn't expect him to walk through that door. It's not good for you." She sighed and pushed a loose strand of hair away from her eyes. "I know this is a long shot, but if you ever want to talk, my door is open. It always has been."

When the door clicked shut behind Amelia, Raine peered over her shoulder at the empty pub. Why did he ever come here? Why couldn't she be as content as she was before? She paced into the empty kitchen and became offended by the silence. This was not how things were supposed to be.

Seized with the impulse to check on Ellone, Raine climbed the stairs to the loft. There, she found her charge sitting on the floor with her dolls. "When is Uncle Laguna coming back?" The little girl picked up the doll in the long black dress. "Lulu misses him."

Raine crouched next to Ellone and her toys. "Lulu, huh?" She poked the doll and examined the low-cut dress trimmed with fur and lace. "Which one of you dressed her?"

"Uncle Laguna doesn't like to dress the dolls. He says its weird." Ellone played with the doll's braids. "Uncle Laguna is silly."

"I think he likes it that way."

Laguna jerked away from the railing on the walkway arching over the train tracks. "What was that?"

Kiros frowned and crossed his arms. "I said that the Timber Maniacs office is that way." He pointed away from the train tracks. "If we don't hurry, we'll be late for the appointment with the editor."

"Don't worry so much, man." Laguna started down the walkway. "It'll all be cool. This mission will be a snap! We'll chat, look over my article, and I'll be on the next train out of town as a world-traveling journalist! I'll have to send my articles to Raine and Elle, so they can read about all the places I've been. If they can't travel the world with me, I'll bring the world to them! Yeah, that would be way cool. Pictures! I'll send them pictures, too! I know they would like that. I'll have to get a camera. Hey, Kiros, how much would a camera cost?"

"The camera should wait until you get the job, Laguna." Kiros couldn't help but grin at his comrade's enthusiasm.

"Yeah, I guess I shouldn't count my cats before they scratch."

"Cats?" Shaking his head, Kiros continued to follow after Laguna.

The scent of cooking meat teased their noses as they passed a streetside vendor. Pausing, they considered the food stand and the emptiness of their bellies. Laguna veered towards the vendor, already reaching for his wallet. Ordering the cheapest item on the small menu, he handed the gil to the attendant.

Accepting the gil, Raine thanked the last patron for the night. Once he left her pub, she closed and locked the door. Holding back an exhausted sigh, Raine faced the kitchen with trepidation. It would have to be cleaned before she went to bed. Letting her breath go, she prepared herself for the work ahead.

The sound of running water was a welcome change to the choking silence that closed in on her. But that was not enough sound to ease her tension. Finding the small radio, she set it on the table and turned it on. "Eyes on Me" crackled into the air and Raine set to washing the dishes. She tried not to think about what Laguna was doing and if he was well, but the harder she resisted, the more her mind insisted. _'He's doing fine,'_ she reassured herself. Before long, there was nothing else to wash and nothing else to distract her. The water stopped running and she turned off the radio. There was nothing else to do but go to bed. The rafters above creaked and she froze in place. _'That was just the building settling. Laguna's not up there He's not there to tuck Ellone in. He's not there to carry on his silly military charade. It's just me and Ellone here.'_ In the darkness and silence, Raine navigated through the pub and up the stairs. Each footstep was carefully controlled against the rising tide of anxiety building within her.

The moonlight beamed through a partly opened curtain and spilled onto the floor. Grabbing the drape to close it, Raine paused and leaned against the window frame. Thin clouds raced in front of the moon hanging huge in the sky.

Below the boarding house window, the alley was painted in stark contrasts of deep shadow and pale light. Inside the cramped room, Laguna sat on the windowsill and stared up at the sky. As much as he liked the lights of the city, he was beginning to feel crowded by them. As long as they glowed, the stars seemed dimmer and the moon lost its dominance over the night. Sighing, he pressed his forehead against the cool glass. What was he going to tell Raine and Elle, now? The interview went horribly and the editor rejected his article. There was no job at Timber Maniacs for him, unless he wanted to take the risk on freelance work. But what else could he do?

"Laguna," Kiros began, "I think you already know what you really want. So, why don't you do what you need to do to make it happen?"

Tearing away from the window, Laguna tilted his head. "Huh?"

Kiros crossed his arms. "You want Ellone to stay with Raine. You want to stay with Ellone and Raine. C'mon, Laguna, you can be a little slow on the uptake sometimes, but I know you're not this dense."

"Yeah, I know what I can do. I-I've thought about a few times. Actually, since we left Winhill, I've thought about it a lot. Part of me wants to do it, but..." Laguna turned back to the window and shook his head. "Man, I don't even know what I'm feeling anymore. I think of Raine and... I don't know. It's not like what I felt about Julia or any other girl. I want... I want Raine to be happy. I want to protect her. I want to make her dreams come true. It's like nothing else matters anymore, Kiros. As long as I'm with her and Elle, the rest of the world could go to hell and it would still be okay. It scares me." He leaned against the glass. "I keep asking myself: Would it be right? Is this real? I mean, this is a pretty major decision here. One of those life-changing things, right?"

"Your life has already changed. _You_ have already changed, Laguna."

"I guess so." There was a moment's pause. "W-Would Raine go for it?" A tremor shuddered through his leg and he rubbed at it on reflex.

Shrugging, Kiros replied, "There's only one way to find out."

After a few silent moments, Laguna stood and turned to his friend. With a smile on his face, he hooked his thumbs onto his beltloops. "You know, I bet I can do good as a novelist, instead of journalist. Winhill's a pretty inspiring place, if you look at it right."

* * *

A/N: Since there was a bit of confusion about Laguna's status in the game concerning the Timber Maniacs, here's my train of thought: 

The Timber Maniacs article you find in Balamb before you leave for Timber reads, "Sir Laguna writes about the time he went to the editor of Timber Maniacs. He brought an article entitled 'Alcohol Will Change You', but it got rejected."

I figure that he didn't get a permanent position as a journalist at Timber Maniacs on his first try. He came unprepared with a subpar article. But he could still work on a pay-per-article basis with Timber Maniacs in freelance work. Of course, that means that he would only get paid if the article was fit to be published. Since his subsequent articles were about world travel and apparently passed whatever quality requirements Timber Maniacs had, they show up in the many magazines Squall and Co. find during the game.


	21. Shotgun

Standard Disclaimer: FFVIII belongs to Square-Enix, yadda yadda yadda… You know the rest.

* * *

_One Good Shoulder – Chapter Twenty-one_

Raine arranged the cleaned glasses on the shelf, trying to keep herself busy. The evening was drawing to a close and the pub was quiet. She doubted that there would be any visitors before last call, but she kept the establishment open regardless. Glancing at the clock, Raine decided to get a head start on cleaning up. There wasn't any point in staying up late again. Ducking into the kitchen, she began washing the dishes.

While the water poured from the faucet, the bell on the pub door jingled. "I'll be out in a sec," Rained announced. After drying her hands, she stepped out to the bar. Furrowing her brows, she scanned the empty pub. Didn't she just hear the door open? _'Great, now I'm hearing things.'_

A familiar face popped up from beneath the bar. "Surprise!" Laguna grinned.

Raine squeaked and swung at him in reflex. Instinctively, he jerked back out of range. Raine grabbed the folded newspaper sitting on the bar and waved it at her visitor menacingly. "Laguna! Don't scare me like that!"

"Shh!" He held out a finger to quiet her. "Don't alert Elle, yet. I got an idea for keeping her here with you, but..." His gaze flitted to the stairway for a moment. "Um, I kinda want to keep it quiet until after you hear it first." The soft patter of footsteps crossing the loft above snapped Laguna to attention. He darted behind the bar and into the kitchen. "Meet me out on the hill after Elle goes to bed." Exiting out the back door, he left Raine alone in the pub.

Under the huge full moon, Laguna fidgeted on the grassy hilltop._ 'Raine, will you... Nope, too quick. Raine, I want us all to be together. That's a better opener. Yeah. Raine, I want us all to be together. Will you marry me? Oh, man. Oh, man. Breathe, man. Cramping up is one thing, but passing out is way uncool. Same with getting sick. It's just butterflies, or pigeons, or panicking seagulls in the stomach. Maybe getting down on one knee will be a good idea. The leg won't be so much of a factor. Breathe. Breathing is cool. I like breathing. Fresh country air. Relax.' _He pulled the simple gold rings out of his pocket. Once again, he wished that he could afford diamonds, but this was the best that he could do. He slipped the larger of the two onto the third finger of his left hand, just to see what it would look like. _'Huh. I'll have to be careful not to get it caught on anything.'_ Satisfied, Laguna pulled the ring off. Or tried to. No matter how hard he tugged, the ring would not budge past the knuckle_. 'C'mon! It should come off the same way it went on. It's not like my knuckle grew any in the past few seconds.'_ The joint popped, but the ring stayed on. Conceding a temporary defeat, Laguna let his finger rest.

After verifying that he did, in fact, put the correct ring on his finger, Laguna poked at the smaller ring in the palm of his hand. Would she like it? Would she yell at him? The moonlight shone on the smooth metal band. _'Happily ever after?'_ Was it possible? Was this insane?

"Laguna?"

His heart jumped at the sound of Raine's voice. Closing his left hand, he tried to hide it behind his back, as he turned to face the petite woman.

She approached him. "I'm glad you came back."

Suddenly, he couldn't say anything. Not a word. It was like he was caught in a mute nightmare. He scratched at his head, trying to gather himself, but all he wanted to do was run before a crippling leg cramp seized him. He waved to Raine and turned around. This would have to wait until morning. He wasn't ready. Would he ever be ready?

"Laguna!"

_'Now or never!'_

In his dream, he twisted around and grabbed her hand, slipping the small gold ring onto her finger. She stared at it in bewilderment, which melted into joy. He lifted up his own beringed hand and smiled. Nothing more needed to be said.

Tears welled up in Raine's eyes and she wrapped her arms around him in a sudden embrace. This was no dream. All of his fear evaporated at her acceptance. Nothing had ever felt more right than standing under the moon with Raine in his arms. For a long while, they held onto that moment of perfect contentment.

It was Raine who broke the silence first. "Laguna... We should leave for Deling tomorrow morning."

He tilted his head, trying to follow. "Hm?"

"I don't want to wait," she answered, "I don't want to get talked out of this. I don't want you to get threatened or hurt. I want us all to go to Deling. We'll get married there and, once we have the license, we'll apply to adopt Ellone."

Laguna smiled. "Sounds like you got this all figured out." He leaned back, still holding her. "I guess I wasn't the only one thinking about getting hitched. Though, I never thought you would be the one to suggest eloping."

She shrugged, "Well, it's not like we have the money for much of a ceremony. And we'll need all the funds we can get for the adoption fees."

"Is it really that expensive?" When Raine nodded, he remarked, "But we're adopting her, not buying her!"

A screech reached their ears, alerting them to a flying monster coming their way. "No way!" Laguna cringed and oriented towards the monster. "My gun is still at the house!"

Raine grabbed Laguna's hand and they raced away, ducking low. Out of breath, they stopped at the pub door. "Go rest in the house next door," she told him, "We'll leave first thing in the morning."

With dawn threatening the horizon, the low rumble of an idling pickup truck growled in the garage. Raine paused at the back door of the pub, running through her mental checklist one more time. The note reading, "Left for Deling with Ellone. Back in a few days. Raine." was posted on the front door. Spare changes of clothes for both her and Ellone were packed and in the truck, along with a knapsack with some food and water. Her purse with slung over her shoulder, containing the necessary papers and money. Laguna carried a still-sleeping Ellone, wrapped up in a blanket. Raine had managed to rouse her enough to get her dressed, but the little girl insisted on going back to bed before she could find out that Laguna had returned. Once they were through the door, Raine locked the back door. Yawning and wishing that she managed even a few minutes of sleep during the night, Raine lead the way to the rickety garage.

Laguna took up step besides her, noting that she was still rubbing at her eyes. "Maybe I should drive? I'm pretty good at autopiloting on a catnap's worth of sleep. Maybe you can catch some shuteye on the way? It's a long trip. I kinda wish we could spare the cash to take the train from Timber, then we could all get some sleep."

Raine gave a wan grin. "You didn't sleep well either?"

"Heck, no! I was too excited."

Reaching the truck, Laguna buckled Ellone into the middle seat, trying not to let her slump to one side. Once the girl was secured, Raine held out her keys to Laguna. Before climbing into the truck, she noticed with some amusement that Laguna's machine gun was hanging from old rifle rack.

An hour into the trip, with the sun shining over the distant mountains, Ellone finally woke up. Her head was nestled against Raine's side and the woman's arm was draped around her. Confused, she looked around the truck and squealed when she saw Laguna at the wheel. "You came back!"

Laguna winced and rubbed at his ear and Raine snapped out of her doze. He reached with one hand to tousle Ellone's messy brown hair. "You bet I did! Guess where we're going?"

The little girl glanced out the windows, seeing nothing but fields. "We're gonna get groceries?"

"Nope! We're going to Deling City!" He tousled her hair one more time. "Me 'n' Raine are gonna get married and adopt you!"

Another squeal lanced through truck and Ellone bounced in her seat, restrained from jumping on it by the seatbelt. "All together! Happy ever after!"

Looking for a way to distract Ellone long enough for her to calm down, Laguna blurted, "Did you see the ring I gave Raine?"

Raine obligingly showed the little girl the simple gold band. Ellone fingered it, her eyes wide. Now that Ellone was awake, Laguna reached for the radio dial and turned it on. "Kiros is still in Timber," he remarked, "When we get to a town, I'll give him a call, so he can meet us in Deling. Ward's up there, too. I bet the commute to the prison he works at is a pain. He's living with his sister and her family in Deling for now. Since he can't talk anymore, she helps him out with things." He smiled at Ellone. "She makes really good cookies. She would send Ward little packages of them when we were in the army. His mom did too, until she passed away a few years ago. Hey, what do you guys want for breakfast?"

At the nearest town, Raine listened to Laguna chat with Kiros through the payphone. "We're gonna need two witnesses. Yeah, we're on our way to Deling... I'm serious, man. We're gonna do it... Hey, man. It was her idea... We're thinkin' we'll do a real ceremony later, once things are settled down... That would be great! Meet us at the usual...Yeah! Just like old times! Let Ward know, okay? ... Yeah, I know he'll probably be working. But he'll be around in the evening, right? Raine called the courthouse for info on this stuff before I called you. She said that we can get the papers at the clerk's office and then go to some guy in the evening to get us hitched. Even got the name and address and already called him. Raine thinks of everything, man... Hey, my gil's almost up. I'll talk to ya in Deling... Later."

The rest of the trip to Deling City was long and mostly uneventful. The greatest excitement was a brush with carsickness from Ellone, resulting in a hasty pitstop. When truck pulled into Deling, it was late afternoon, which was very good time thanks to Laguna's speeding. Raine scanned the alien streets. "We should go to the courthouse now. We don't have much longer before it starts closing and there's no way that Kiros could have beat us here from Timber."

Laguna wearily nodded in agreement. "Y'know, I never woulda thought that I'd get married like this. It's kinda weird with everything goin' so fast."

"I know. I thought I would have bells and dresses and flowers," Raine admitted with a sigh, "But we just don't have the time or money for that right now."

Glancing to Ellone, Laguna nodded again. "Yeah." He squinted at the street signs. "Hm... Left or right? Ah, there'll be signs pointin' the way eventually." He turned right.

By the time they parked at the courthouse, Raine was frantic. "We're going to be late! Laguna!"

Laguna hid his gun under the benchseat and locked the truck. "How was I supposed to know that I had to take a left?" He broke into a jog to catch up with Raine and Ellone.

"You lived here!" Raine shot back.

They were barely in time. After fumbling for their identifications and filling out blanks on forms, they paid for their license at the clerk's office and received the instructions on what they needed to do to validate their marriage. "You have ninety days to have an officiant validate the marriage with two witnesses other than yourselves present. Then bring the license back here and we'll issue a certificate."

Raine stared at the piece of paper in her hands as they walked out of the courthouse. It was like looking through the fog of a distant dream and she couldn't quite shake the detached numbness. She counted that as a blessing, since it was better than shaking with nervousness.

The path to the Galbadia Hotel was like returning home to Laguna. His eyes flicked to the board along the sidewalk that was advertising tonight's entertainment in the lounge. The name of Julia Heartilly was absent. _'She probably doesn't hang around little stages like this one anymore. Maybe that's a good thing.'_ As much as he wanted to see her again, he didn't really want run into her on this occasion. _'Not cool, man. Not cool.'_

He paused in his step, realizing that Raine was slowing down. Her eyes were fixed on the towering white facade of the hotel. Even Ellone was gawking at the Promenade's flashy fronts and crowds of people. She clutched Raine tightly, as if she was afraid the sea of people would sweep her away. Laguna guided his family into the hotel, where Raine stared at the greeter. With a smile, Laguna whispered to his almost wife, "It's okay. She's paid to do that. She doesn't know you from anywhere."

Down a set of stairs to the lounge, Laguna spoke to the waitress, who kindly reminded them that minors were not allowed. Laguna rubbed at his neck and laughed in embarrassment. "I guess we'll go to the restaurant, instead." Addressing the waitress, he leaned towards her. "Hey, if a skinny, tall guy with dark skin and long braids comes in here, can you point him to the family-friendly section?"

After the waitress agreed, the guests were seated in the restaurant. Musing over the prices on the menu, Laguna muttered, "Man, now I remember why we stuck to the lounge." Then he tried to decipher the names of the dishes. "Man... Raine? Um, do you know what some of this stuff is? I mean, I can kinda guess, but..."

Raine shrugged and shook her head. "I run a pub, not a fine restaurant. Soup, steak, and salad are my holy trinity."

"Sounds perfect to me." A wide grin spread across his face. "Hey, if you ate pasta and antipasta, would you still be hungry?"

Raine held back a groan, though she was smiling at his silly joke. She didn't want to spoil his fun by reminding him that the word was antipasto, not antipasta. Sighing at the prices, she set the menu down. The appetizers were almost as much as the entrees, which were nearly double the price she would charge for her fare in the pub. She eyed the cheapest item on the menu. "So, what's the soup of the day?"


End file.
